IF you’re an Angry Birds fan, then you’d be glad to know that McDonald’s ‘furiously fun’ summer treat this scorchingly hot season of summer is its Angry Birds Desserts.
With the Angry Birds Movie hitting the big screen, McDonald’s is offering three limited-time Angry Birds dessert treats inspired by major characters in the Angry Birds franchise—Red’s Cotton Candy McFlurry, Piggies’ Oreo Matcha McFlurry, and Bomb’s Black Sesame McDip.
Red’s Cotton Candy McFlurry
Red’s Cotton Candy McFlurry is creamy vanilla soft-serve ice cream drizzled with Cotton Candy-flavored syrup and sprinkled with crunchy wafer bits.
Piggies’ Oreo Matcha McFlurry is a new spin on the classic McFlurry with Oreo with the addition of the Green Tea flavor. It’s a delightfully fun vanilla soft-serve ice cream sprinkled with crushed Oreo and mixed with creamy Matcha Green Tea-flavored bits.
To make this summer even more fun and exciting, McDonald’s is also introducing the new Mini McFlurry which customers can get exclusively in McDonald’s Dessert Centers and is available in McFlurry with Oreo, and the two Angry Birds McFlurrys—Piggies’ Oreo Matcha McFlurry and Red’s Cotton Candy McFlurry.
Bomb’s Black Sesame McDip
The third Angry Birds dessert is Bomb’s Black Sesame McDip. Its velvety Black Sesame-flavored coating on luscious vanilla soft-serve ice cream in cone.
These Angry Birds Desserts are available in McDonald’s stores and Dessert Centers nationwide for a limited time only, so try them now and share those Angry Birds moments on McDonald’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/McDo.ph or tag @McDo_PH on Twitter or Instagram.
‘Pizza Gamberetti con Rucola’ is tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, shrimps and arugula on hand-tossed pizza dough
HOW would you like to dine on authentic Italian pizza, pasta and risotto in a lovely Italian resto pub ambiance at a leisurely pace by a grand canal that reminds you of the Venice canal complete with gondolas?
Now, you can do so at Toni & Sergio Gastro Italiano, which is located at the Venice Grand Canal Mall in McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. The restaurant, which fronts the new mall’s famous Venetian canal, offers a cool and relaxing air-conditioned indoor dining area that’s perfect to beat the summer heat with during the daytime, but it also features outdoor seating right by the grand canal, which is perfect for dining under the moon and the stars in the evening.
Toni & Sergio Gastro Italiano just recently opened at the Venice Grand Canal Mall in McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City
Al fresco dining by the grand canal at Venice Grand Canal Mall
Brothers Antonio Carmine ‘Toni’ Iapino and Sergio Candido Iapino flanking Toni’s son Giulius Caezar Iapino
The restaurant is named after Eatalian Inc. and Rigatoni Corporation president Giulius Ceazar Iapino’s father, Antonio ‘Toni’ Carmine Iapino, and Toni’s younger brother, Sergio Candido Iapino. The brothers hail from Rome, Italy, where Toni owns several restaurants and pubs while Sergio is an accomplished TV director. The brothers are both managing directors of Rigatoni Corp., whose business ventures include Parmigiano Ristorante Pizzeria at Newport Mall and Giulius Boracay Italian in Boracay, Malay, Aklan.
The ‘Frutti di Mare’ pizza is loaded with tomatoes, mussels, clams, squid, prawns and mozzarella cheese
‘Pizza Margherita con Bufala’ is simple but flavorful tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella cheese and basil leaves
‘Pasta Bolognese’ is a classic Italian meat and tomato sauce based pasta
‘T&S Roasted Chicken with Chorizo and Olives’ is garlic, lemon and rosemary infused chicken baked with chorizo, olives and potatoes
‘Grilled Chimichurri Salmon’ has the perfectly grilled fish served with chimichurri aioli sauce
Toni & Sergio, which just opened in mid-April this year, specializes in authentic Italian cuisine with a sprinkling of Spanish dishes. The chefs use authentic ingredients which are imported from Italy and Spain, and these are meticulously prepared. On top of the list is pizza, which is intrinsic in Italian cuisine. The pizza at Toni & Sergio is cooked in a brick oven, and the dough is hand-tossed, so diners can be sure that the pizza is freshly made using the high quality standards required in Italian cuisine. The pasta dishes also make use of only the freshest ingredients available. There are wide selections of pizza and pasta dishes, as well as other Italian specialties such as risotto and main dishes.
‘Paella dela Casa’ is the house specialty, with prawns, mussels, clams, chicken, chorizo, marinated artichokes and black olives
‘Paella Nero con Frito Misto’ is black ink paella topped with calamari and fried shrimps
‘T&S Nachos’ is nacho chips topped with homemade savory pulled pork and chicharones
‘Pizzaiolo Burger’ is a juicy 200-gram burger and pizza in one
Italian Sodas in Green Apple (left) and Blueberry (right) flavors
Spanish dishes at Toni & Sergio area also prepared to conform to the strict requirements of authentic Spanish cooking, including its paella; and since Toni & Sergio is a resto pub, it also offers an impressive menu of bar chows, including nachos and burgers, as well as an impressive line of Italian wines, liquors, local and imported beers and signature drinks and cocktails. But don’t forget the Italian sodas, which come in different flavors, such as Green Apple, Strawberry, Raspberry and Blueberry, which are great thirst-quenchers.
“We want Toni & Sergio to be the place where good friends meet. But, more importantly, we would like to hear diners say that they will come back, because that’s the only time we will feel satisfied,” says Giulius Ceazar Iapino.
Operations manager Arnel Due adds: “We want our customers to experience how the Europeans eat and enjoy their food. They are most welcome to spend hours at Toni & Sergio while enjoying the flavors of cuisines that the Italians and the Spanish have become famous for.”
Bibingka-esk’s delicious bibingkas, clockwise from top: Too Much Chocolate Bingky, Queso de Bingky, Chocolate Chip Bingky, Strawberry Swirl Bingky, Ube Bingky, Turon Bingky, and Blueberry Bingky. Center: My Original Bingky
FOR Filipinos who are feeling homesick in New York City, they have found a taste of home in Bibingka-esk’s line of gluten-free bibingkas (rice cakes). Americans and other foreigners who have had a taste of the Filipino delicacy have also taken a liking to it because it’s a unique kind of treat for them—not a cupcake, not a muffin, not a cookie, but a rice cake.
Available in fairs, county markets, flea markets, expos and pop-up stores in Manhattan and Queens, Bibingka-esk’s bibingkas were concocted by former Human Resources executive Eileen Formanes. Leaving her job as senior vice president to follow her dream of baking and making Filipino desserts famous in New York City, Eileen reinvented the bibingka, gave it her own spin, experimented with different flavors, and focused on the gluten-free aspect of the rice cake so that more people could enjoy it.
Eileen Formanes, founder and head baker of New York City’s Bibingka-esk, at the pop-up store on the 5th Level of Shangri-La Plaza
She first served her bibingkas to customers in Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 2013, and the unique treat became an instant hit. Now she makes them available to customers in fairs in Manhattan (including The Hester Street Fair, Bryant Park, Grub Street, Taste Asia and Sweet Spot Festival) and in Queens (Long Island City Flea and Food, Queens County Market, Astoria Nights and Queens International Night Market). There’s also a pop-up store in Brooklyn.
Bibingka-esk likewise participates in specialized expos, such as the Gluten Free & Allergen Friendly Expo at Disney World, Orlando, Florida; and the Washington DC Gluten-free Expo in Bethesda, MD. Through online sales, though, her bibingkas have been enjoyed by people, Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike, in different parts of the United States. She is also often called upon to cater to events organized by the Philippine Consulate.
My Original Bingky
Take your pick, clockwise from top left: Turon Bingky, Too Much Chocolate Bingky, Queso de Bingky and Blueberry Binky
Original Bingky, Chocolate Chip Bingky, and Strawberry Swirl Bingky
Eileen has successfully created 16 flavors of bibingka. From her Original Bingky, which is the size of a cupcake, she has perfected the formulation for Queso de Bingky, Turon Bingky, Blueberry Bingky, Strawberry Swirl Bingky (she makes her own strawberry jam), Cinnamon Sugar Bingky, Banana Bingky, Chocolate Chip Bingky, Pumpkin Bingky, and Too Much Chocolate Bingky.
Ube Bingky is Bibingka-esk’s new best-selling flavor
It took her quite a while to finally launch the Ube Bingky because she wanted to hit the perfect formulation, and now it has overtaken the Original Bingky in popularity.
Bibingka-esk’s bibingkas also come in Assorted Mega (a box of eight different flavors of bibingkas in cake slice shapes or sizes) as well as in Mega Bingky (a whole round bibingka the size of a cake) and Ba-bites (bite-sized mini muffins) that you just pop in the mouth.
Bibingka-esk’s Assorted Mega consists of eight cake slice shapes of bibingkas
A Strawberry Swirl Bingky surrounded by assorted Ba-bites
Wanting to give her countrymen a taste of New York City’s famous bibingkas, Eileen decided to put up a pop-up store on the 5th Level of Shangri-La Plaza for a limited time only, specifically four days—from April 21 to 24, 2016. So, everyone, you’ve got this weekend to head for Shangri-La Plaza for a taste of Bibingka-esk, the Filipino dessert that has taken New York City by storm.
FOODIES who love Thai street food would love to know that they can have the real deal—as in authentic Thai street food prepared by a full-blooded Thai chef—right in Manila. Mango Tree and Mango Tree Bistro, global Thai restaurant brands, are presenting a month-long Thai Street Food Festival, which begins today, April 20, and ends on May 15, 2016.
Mango Tree’s new executive chef Prapun Sampungpong
The Thai Street Food Festival offers diners an explosion of unique gastronomic flavors like no other, with new Thai executive chef Prapun Sampungpong, or simply Chef Tum, heading the kitchen and putting together a lineup of street food favorites from across Thailand. There are some eight to twelve items that are absolute must-tries on the menu.
Some of these are:
Yum Ma Muang (Green Mango Salad)
Yum Ma Muang (Php120), better known as Green Mango Salad, is an iconic Thai appetizer and street food. Vendors in Thailand make fresh batches of this salad in food stalls all day. The salad consists of fine strips of green mango with onion, chopped peanuts, grated coconut and spring onion in a vinegar-based dressing.
Tom Yum Fries
Tom Yum Fries (Php150). An adaptation of the all-American golden crisp fries, Mango Tree’s Tom Yum Fries has the fries topped with Tom Yum seasoning. There’s shredded lemongrass that has been fried to a crunchy golden perfection sprinkled on top. Eat the fries with the crispy topping, and your palate would recognize the Tom Yum flavor twist in the fries.
Pork Dynamite
Pork Dynamite in Sri Racha Sauce (Php180). It’s minced pork stuffed into green chilies with onion, coriander, peanuts, spring onion and Kaffir lime leaves; then breaded and deep-fried to a crisp. Dip a “dynamite” into the sauce and take a bite. It will be an explosion of flavors in your mouth.
Salmon Skin Chicharron
Salmon Skin Chicharron (Php100). Now, this is the sosyal gourmet version of the Filipino delicacy, pork chicharon, made healthier, too, using salmon skin instead of pork rind. It’s generous strips of salmon skin marinated in herbs, fried and then served with a garlic aioli dip.
Larb Pla Meuk (Spicy Squid Salad)
Larb Pla Meuk (Php150) is Spicy Squid Salad typical of Thai cuisine. It is bite-sized portions of squid that have been scored on the surface and cooked with onion, Kaffir lime leaves, spring onion and spicy lime sauce.
Goong Phad Woonsen (Stir-fried Glass Noodles with Shrimps)
Goong Phad Woonsen (Php220) is Stir-fried Glass Noodles with Shrimps, Mushrooms, Onion and Tomatoes, flavored with oyster sauce and soy sauce, and sprinkled with chopped spring onion. Mango Tree and Mango Tree Bistro management wants diners to discover an alternative to the very popular Pad Thai. This is also a noodle dish that’s just as flavorful and filling.
Pla Meuk Thod (Fried Squid Rings)
Pla Meuk Thod or Fried Squid Rings is very close to the Fried Calamares or Calamari that we love to munch on in American diners and bars.
Tom Yum Chicken Poppers
Tom Yum Chicken Poppers (Php150) are chunks of chicken that have marinated in tom yum seasoning, breaded, fried to a lovely crunch, and “fired up” with a sprinkling of chili flakes.
Phad See Iw Gai (Stir-fried Rice Noodles in Soy Sauce with Chicken)
Phad See Iw Gai (Php480) from the regular menu of Mango Tree is another noodle alternative to the classic Phad Thai. It’s stir-fried rice noodles in soy sauce and chicken.
Mun cheum (Sweetened Cassava Topped with Coconut Milk)
For dessert, the month-long Thai Street Food Festival features Mun Cheum (Php220), which is Sweetened Cassava Topped with Coconut Milk. It’s peeled cassava cooked in syrup to a maligat (chewy) finish and then drizzled with coconut milk before serving.
Khao Niew Ma Muang (Mango with Sticky Rice)
Then there is Khao Niew Ma Muang (Php280), the traditional Thai favorite that combines ripe fresh mango and sweetened sticky rice. A perfect combination, it is similar to the Filipino suman that we sometimes like to pair with our own ripe mango.
Thai Halo-Halo
Finally, there’s Thai Halo-Halo (Php180), which is crushed ice with a selection of root crops and banana slices cooked in syrup to a chewy doneness, served with coconut milk that is typically Thai.
Held in cooperation with Singha Beer and the Thai Trade Commission, the Thai Street Food Festival can be enjoyed at Mango Tree BGC (7th Ave., Bonifacio High Street Central, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City; open from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and from 5:30 to 11:30 p.m. daily); Mango Tree Bistro TriNoma (3rd Level, TriNoma, Quezon City; open from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.); and Mango Tree Bistro Greenbelt (Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati City; open from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily).
For reservations, call 621-3233 or 0917-5342273 (BGC); 916-0297 or 0917-8902166 (TriNoma); and 576-9052 or 0917-5242273 (Greenbelt).
Waffle: Yes, it’s a waffle topped with smoked salmon, quail eggs and sour cream!
NOW there are all the more reasons to dine at Makati Shangri-La Hotel’s Sage Bespoke Grill, an elegant restaurant with a new dining concept that showcases premium superior steaks, seafood dishes and comfort food in a relaxed casual but chic setting. Chef de cuisine Eric Weidmann has created a new a la carte menu that boasts of innovative flavors from appetizers and salads to Chef’s Specials and Josper steaks accompanied by signature side dishes all the way to delicious desserts.
Recently, Chef Eric Weidmann treated members of the food media to a tasting of Sage Bespoke Grill’s new menu items, and it turned out to be quite a feast. Chef Eric had lined up so many of his new specialties that covered everything from appetizers to desserts. Everyone had not just a taste but a fill of everything he put out on the table.
Chef Eric Weidmann
Ceviche Scallops
For appetizers, Chef Eric served Ceviche Scallops (Php920), thinly sliced fresh scallops with lemon and sundry tomatoes, drizzled with basil oil; and Waffle (Php520), which was actually a big waffle as base, topped with smoked salmon and boiled quail eggs with sour cream dressing. Both were visual feasts that tasted as good as they looked. Both would surely whet your appetite and get your palate ready for the next courses to come.
Also not to be missed are Josper appetizers on the menu of Sage Bespoke Grill. They are called Josper appetizers because they are cooked in a Josper Grill, which combines a grill and an oven in one, so if you cook a meat dish in it, you can grill it to perfection without the risk of overcooking it. The Josper Grill also allows the meat to preserve its juiciness and texture long after cooking.
Grilled Bacon
Josper appetizers served during the tasting were Grilled Bacon (Php380) topped with chimichurri sauce made with sundry tomatoes, coriander, lemon juice, parsley, red wine vinegar and olive oil; and Bone Marrow (Php550) prepared in three ways—natural, with breadcrumbs, and with green peppercorn sauce—with a green salad on the side.
Iceberg Lettuce Salad
There are a number of salads on the menu, but one that diners must make sure they try is Iceberg Lettuce Salad (Php360). It’s a quartered Iceberg lettuce with sour cream dressing, chopped bacon, blue cheese, candied nuts, brunoise tomatoes, onion and spring onion.
Pork Short Ribs
Lobster Roll
On to the Chef’s Specials, which are, as the category suggests, really sumptuous selections that come highly recommended by the chef. Two of these are the Pork Short Ribs (Php1,400), slow-cooked for three hours and served with wedge potatoes, green salad and coleslaw salad; and the Lobster Roll (Php950), which are chunks of Boston lobster tail mixed with celery, spring onion and mustard cream on a long bread bun, served with potato wedges and green salad.
Since Sage Bespoke Grill is known as a dining destination for premium superior steaks, Chef Eric brought out three items from the Josper Grill—Australian Wagyu Chateaubriand (Php7,620), a whopping 900-gram steak; U.S. Certified Angus Beef Tomahawk (Php3,800), measuring 600 grams; and Dry Aged Beef Striploin Bone-in (Php3,920), all of 500 grams.
Sage actually serves three kinds of steaks—Australian Wagyu, U.S. Certified Angus Beef, and Dry Aged Beef—in different choice cuts of the beef.
Australian Wagyu Chateaubriand
Australian Wagyu Beef originates from the Wagyu breed of cattle from Japan, whose meat is intensely marbled, with softer fat, and has a higher percentage of monounsaturated fats (known as good cholesterol), Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids than regular beef, and are lower in cholesterol, too.
U.S. Certified Angus Beef Tomahawk
U.S. Certified Angus Beef is known for its finely marbled meat, which means even distribution of fat in the meat.
Dry Aged Beef Striploin Bone-in
Dry Aged Beef utilizes the time-honored technique of dry aging, where unwrapped cuts of beef are stored in a specially constructed room where the temperature, air circulation, humidity and, yes, bacteria level is strictly regulated so that the meat achieves a greater concentration of flavor. Since the beef’s natural enzymes break down the connective tissue in the muscle in the process, the beef also becomes more tender.
These steaks are served with a variety of sauces—Sage Bespoke Grill Sauce, Green Peppercorn Sauce, Béarnaise Sauce, Chimichurri Sauce, and Beurre Blanc.
Bourbon Creamed Corn
Mac and Cheese with Bacon and Peas
Pan-roasted Vegetables from the Market
Twice-baked Potato with Bacon and Spring Onion
They are best eaten with side dishes such as Bourbon Creamed Corn (Php215), Mac and Cheese with Bacon and Peas (Php215), Pan-roasted Vegetables from the Market (Php215), and Twice-baked Potato with Bacon and Spring Onion.
Traditional Warm Tarte Tatin
Caramelized Pineapple Crumble
Chocolate Sphere
Finally, for the desserts, which diners must leave space for in their tummies, Sage Bespoke Grill’s best-selling new items are Traditional Warm Tarte Tatin (Php315), served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top; Caramelized Pineapple Crumble (Php315), flavored with star anise and served with vanilla ice cream; and Chocolate Sphere (P315), a chocolate sphere with holes, with brownies, 70% whipped ganache and poached pear. When warm chocolate sauce is poured over the chocolate sphere at table service, the sphere melts and every element on the plate just melds perfectly together to give immense chocolate pleasure to the palate.
(Sage Bespoke Grill is located on the second floor of Makati Shangri-La Hotel, at the corner of Ayala Ave. and Makati Ave., Makati City.)
