Sensible Netnonsense
Where Pinoy pop culture and the digital domain collide
by Ignatius Javellana, Philippines
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Trinoma Food Blogger's Tour--we stuffed our faces off!
Jan 11, 2008 18:02Yup. We did.
We just finished the Food Blogger's Tour that was organized by Trinoma, Ayala's brand new triangle mall up in the northern part of Metro Manila, in tandem with Yehey.com, and boy was I bursting to the seams!
It wasn't your ordinary average Food Tour where you could free for all and just visit the places you wanted to, thereby possibly alienating some of the other restos. No, it was more systematic--the 150 participants (plus/minus change) were divided into five groups and started at different levels of the mall to ensure that all the participating merchant restos could get a free taste test.
Anyway, we began with a little buffet c/o Trinoma at the Cinema Lobby, where we all met up. About 30 minutes later, the meet-up venue was nearly full, and the sign-up sheet showed only a few missing names. I was tasked to emcee a bit along with my friend Mench Viduya-Dizon from Trinoma, and we just got the food tour rolling.
My group was the one destined to fill up quickly. Sigh.
The Tour Proper
We were assigned to the first floor area where most of the restos were, and we weren't prepared for it at all! My gosh, after just one restaurant, which was the deliciously unique Sizzling Pepper Steak, we were already bursting with a delicious mix of chicken and greens salad splashed with fruits like mangoes and grapes, an awesome bun-less sizzling burger combo with the half-pound patty, coleslaw, tomatoes and matching marinara dip, and the signature Sizzling Pepper Steak dish, served piping hot with steam rising from the sizzling plate, half-cooked steak (which starts to fully transform from a tender red to a scrumptious brown right before your eyes!) and wonderfully mixed vegetable rice.
We asked what the "damage" would be should one decide to dine in and, not surprisingly enough, their dishes were well within the 200 peso range--perfect for a pair looking to score a delicious meal!
Then we momentarily went our separate ways to check out the neighboring restaurants. I went to Marina first because its seafood and local dish sampler buffet was already set up right in front. They served cups of hot batchoy and chicken wrapped in pandan leaves. They also served both fresh and baked oysters, and I couldn’t resist chugging a couple of those slimy rascals down. The warm soup and noodles from the batchoy helped settle the food into my now filled belly.
Next, I took a short trip to Pho Hoa, and I couldn’t believe how delicious that caramelized sea bass was! If only I wasn’t full I would definitely scarf that down with lumps of rice--the caramel sauce alone was enough to get me going on and on! They also served bites of crispy wanton, but next to that delectable fish dish, it was a lost cause! I took in three or four more bites before raising the white flag.
But the white flag was only for that resto as I moved on to Mann Hann, which presented its bestselling dishes like that delicious Lechon Macau wrapped in fresh lettuce, the mini wrapped shrimp dimsum which was absolutely divine and well worth a second stop. Then to help the palate, finish it off with chilled tofu wonderfully garnished with spices and whatnots.
By the time I was able to move onto the next restaurant along that line, I was sure I wasn’t going to be able to cram another morsel down my throat. I was wrong... the bibingka and putobumbong at Mangan was more than enough to get me a second wind.
After that we moved on to the other half of the first floor restos, where I was able to scarf down some of those signature crazy makis from Oki Oki--huge, huge maki served with an overabundance of that orangey little fish egg stuff--and then a short stop at Super Bowl where I had a few bites of my favorite lemon chicken and mixed vegetable rice.
And if that wasn't enough, I had to move on to Bacolod Chicken Inasal--of which I am a regular patron--where I discovered something new! They had this really strange-looking dessert called Suman Surprise, which is basically your regular everyday suman swimming in melted vanilla ice cream topped with a slice of mango. Holy heavenly desserts, Batman! That was definitely something I hadn't tasted before and something that I will definitely come back to eat.
One of the highlights of the tour was our trip going up where we came across La Maison--which served delectable dishes of ribs and buttery fish that quite literally melted in your mouth--and then to Abe, a Kapampangan-themed restaurant where there was a very strange centerpiece dish of a huge fried fish, set on a plate as if it had wings spread open.
I topped off my evening with a very delicious morsel of cheesecake from Holy Cow. Holy Cow is right... that small piece was enough to keep my sweet tooth placated for the rest of the evening.
The aftermath
I wasn't able to sit down and really enjoy the other restaurants because there were so many included in the tour--32 restaurants in total signed in to be part of the tour. But by around 6.30pm, most of us were just stuffed! So we all congregated at the park area at the top floor (just outside the Cinema Lobby where we all met earlier) and were entertained by the sounds of Sound.
It was a near perfect ending to the whole tour. If only the Starbucks beside the stage where we were enjoying the music had given us all free cups of coffee!
Now, checking the movement of the event on the Internet, it seems the actual food tour--and the events that transpired within--have already sparked discussion among the blogging community. For one thing, it seems one of the more popular bloggers had a rude awakening when they visited the Cabalen branch at Trinoma. It was such a bad move on Cabalen’s part that the blogger himself went on to file a formal complaint via email to the management of the restaurant. Just goes to show you that no matter how big your name may seem, if your service is not up to standard, even us mere bloggers can and will make waves.
(Enter the "Don’t Mess With Blogger" shirt.)
Anyway, here are few other perspectives of the food tour:
AJ-- http://baklaako.com/2008/01/10/bakla-goes-to-the-trinoma-blogger-food-tour/
Jehzlau--http://www.jehzlau-concepts.com/2008/01/live-blogging-during-trinoma-food-tour.html
Lordartworks-- http://lordartworks.com/2008/01/03/trinoma-blogger-food-tour/
Noemi Dado - http://pinoyfood.nimrodel.net/2008/01/09/trinoma-blogger-food-tour/
http://pinoyfood.nimrodel.net/2008/01/10/speed-eating-at-the-trinoma-blogger-food-tour/
http://jester-in-exile.blogspot.com/2008/01/bloghopping-january-10-2008-or-of.html
Eric--http://www.byahilo.com/2008/01/10/byahilo-goes-to-the-trinoma-blogger-food-tour/
Jonas--http://techievangelism.blogspot.com/2008/01/food-trip-field-trip-at-trinoma-food.html
JM--http://jmtuazon.tinig.com/2008/01/10/the-trinoma-bloggers-pig-out-part-1-of-3/
Jan--http://janmania.blogspot.com/2008/01/trinoma-blogger-food-tour.html
Review of Bubba Gump--http://tesstermulo.com/2008/01/11/trinoma-blogger-food-tour-bubbagump/
Review of Haiku-- http://tesstermulo.com/2008/01/11/trinoma-blogger-food-tour-haiku/
Review of The Madison Grill--http://tesstermulo.com/2008/01/10/trinoma-blogger-food-tour-the-madison-grill/
The Prologue--http://tesstermulo.com/2008/01/10/trinoma-blogger-food-tour-prologue/
http://bleue.i.ph/blogs/bleue/2008/01/09/blogger-food-tour/
Joriben--http://j4ever.multiply.com/journal/item/233/Bloggers_Food_Marathon_Trinoma
Alvin--http://alvinquachua.multiply.com/journal/item/8/Trinoma_Food_Tour_-_January_9_2008
Nherz--http://nherz14.multiply.com/journal/item/647/My_first_food_tour_experience
So many photo galleries of the tour have surfaced as well, ranging from photos of the very delicious servings up to the people who made it all worthwhile--the bloggers!
Here are a few notable links to check out:
Laszlo's Multiply Site - http://laszlo.multiply.com/photos/album/213/blogger_food_tour
http://photos.the-protagonist.net/trinoma
Elaine's Multiply Photo Gallery-- http://elaine10.multiply.com/photos/album/31/TriNoma_Blogger_Food_Tour
Alvin's Multiply Photo Gallery--http://alvinquachua.multiply.com/photos/album/60/Trinoma_Restaurants_Tour_-_Sponsored_by_Trinoma_and_Yehey_
Omar's Multiply Photo Gallery--a href="http://orgulaschubb.multiply.com/photos/album/186/Photo_Blog_TriNoma_Blogger_Food_Tour_" target="_blank">http://orgulaschubb.multiply.com/photos/album/186/Photo_Blog_TriNoma_Blogger_Food_Tour_
Karen's Multiply Photo Gallery (With Restaurant List)--http://kurdapying.multiply.com/photos/album/112/Trinoma_Bloggers_Food_Tour_
All in all, it was very successful for a weekday event. Already, there is talk for a second and maybe even third followup to this event, and possibly more alternatives to food, like touring the different sections of Trinoma or maybe even new areas of interest for us bloggers!
Until the next event, see you online!
- Talkback
-
Hmmm something's wrong with the spacing... >.<
Please bear with me while I try and fix eht!
Jan 11, 2008 18:12
Thanks for linking my posts. And nice meeting you at the event! :-)
Jan 12, 2008 01:10
You are very welcome! Hope to see you again at the next event! ^_^
Jan 12, 2008 03:51
may bago me post.. hehehe :D
www.jehzlau-concepts.com...
hehehe ^_^
Jan 12, 2008 17:20
About Ignatius Javellana
Iggy Javellana, who is now the Head of Advergaming for Level Up! Games Inc., is what you would call a "wired" individual: Online practically 24/7. He's an avid gamer, satiric blogger, budding musician and independent film enthusiast, and still hopes to one day become a rock star.
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