FACIAL expressions reflect what a person feels. A smile indicates that he (or she) is happy. A frown shows displeasure. Brows that are arched should tell you that he’s angry. Sadness can also be read easily from one’s face. But when these facial expressions are on a pie, they tell you what filling or flavor it has. So you’ll definitely see a lot of different faces on the pies, both savory and sweet, of Pie Face.
Pie Face is a chain of bakery cafes that originates from Australia. They specialize in gourmet, handcrafted pies and pastries that are made from scratch using only premium ingredients and baked fresh in the store throughout the day. To ensure freshness, they are not baked in a commissary and just brought to the store. Instead, they are prepared in the store and served oven-fresh. So, they contain no preservatives at all. And when you order them, you get amused by the smiley faces that are hand-piped on the surface of each pie, and these smiley faces indicate the flavor of the pie.
Chicken & Mushroom, with Chunky Steak at the back
The smiley indicates the flavor of the pie at Pie Face
Besides the pie faces, what makes these pies extra special is that great care goes into the preparation of each pie. The puff pastry on top of each pie, for instance, is made the traditional French way, which is folded four times to achieve a delicious, flaky crust. Each pie is also brimming with filling, which has no extenders, so that one pie can already serve as a full meal.
Since Pie Face originates from Australia, where meat pies partnered with coffee are really popular among diners, its best-sellers include Chunky Steak and Classic Australian Mince. Adapted from popular American flavors are Philly Cheese Steak and Hickory Pulled Pork.
Other signature savory pies are Curry Vegetable with a Kick, Mediterranean Chicken, Chicken & Mushroom, Steak Bacon & Cheese, Spicy Chili con Carne, and Lamb Pot Pie.
Pie Face’s sweet pies, left vertical row, from top: Cappuccino, Mango, S’mores, Oreo, and Peanut Butter & Jelly. Right vertical row, from top: Lemon, Green Tea, Dark Chocolate, Raspberry, and Butterscotch
Key Lime Pie
When it comes to sweet pies, Pie Face’s offerings are Cappuccino, Lemon, Mango, Green Tea, S’mores, Raspberry, Oreo, Dark Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Jelly, Butterscotch, and Key Lime Pie.
Brownies
Cookies
Sausage Rolls
Sandwiches
Cakes
Di Bella Coffee
Aside from savory and sweet pies, Pie Face also serves pastries, brownies, cookies, muffins, sausage rolls, sandwiches, salads and cakes. It also serves gourmet blends of Di Bella coffee that have been created exclusively for Pie Face. Di Bella’s Artisan Roasted Coffee has won Australia’s most prestigious specialty coffee competition, the Golden Bean Award, for three years, and their unique blend of 100% Arabica beans is a combination of beans sourced from Nicaragua, Colombia, Brazil and Peru.
Alfred Lay of Australia and Michelle Chan are responsible for bringing Pie Face to the Philippines
Bringing Pie Face to the Philippines is Michelle Chan, chief executive officer of Pie Face Philippines. The idea of bringing the brand and the dining concept to Manila came from a trip that Michelle made to India in early 2014 to attend a friend’s wedding. There, she met another visitor of the marrying couple, Alfred Lay, chief operating officer of Pie Face, and their conversation touched on the pie business in Australia. Everything happened so fast after that. Michelle and Alfred talked in April of 2014 and explored the possibility of bringing Pie Face to the Philippines, they signed their agreement in August, Pie Face Philippines’ kitchen opened in February of 2015, and by May, the first store at SM Mall of Asia opened. Immediately following were branches at Techno Plaza 2 in Eastwood City, SM Megamall, SM Fairview and Bonifacio Global City.
With more branches to open in the Philippines, it may be time to start exploring which ‘pie face’ you love best at Pie Face.
ALWAYS on the lookout for a place to have a good breakfast meal? As in a real, full and satisfying meal?
Check out Burgoo. It now serves breakfast in two of its branches—Tomas Morato, Quezon City, and Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati City.
Burgoo’s new breakfast menu is called Delicious Big Breakfast to emphasize the generous serving of each breakfast meal, whether you prefer Filipino Breakfast Favorites or Continental Breakfast Classics.
There are six Filipino Favorites to choose from: Breakfast Combo (Php275), USDA Marinated Steak (Php295), Honeyed Chicken (Php195), Pork Sausage (Php175), Milkfish in Vinegar and Garlic (Php175), and USDA Beef Steak with Lemon and Onions (Php295), all served with garlic rice, eggs cooked sunny side up or scrambled, and salsa.
Honeyed Chicken
Milkfish in Vinegar and Garlic
USDA Marinated Steak is Burgoo’s higher-end version of beef tapa, while Honeyed Chicken is the lighter variation of pork tocino. Milkfish in Vinegar and Garlic is what we know as Daing na Bangus, and it’s a delicious interpretation that non-meat eaters would definitely go for.
If Continental Breakfast is what you’re craving for, Burgoo offers five options: Bacon and Ham (Php195), Breakfast Sausage (Php175), Spam (Php175), Omelette (Php175), and Fluffy Pancakes (Php145). Except for the Fluffy Pancakes, everything is served with toasted sesame bread, eggs that can be cooked sunny side up or scrambled depending on diners’ preference, butter and marmalade. And if you order Omelette, you can choose to have Vegetarian, Salmon and Spinach, or Ham and Cheese Omelette.
Breakfast Sausage Continental Breakfast
Fluffy Pancakes with Butterscotch and Banana
The Fluffy Pancakes, which is a stack of three delightfully fluffy pancakes, is served with butter and syrup, and you can have add-ons such as Bacon Strips (just add Php95), Chocolate Chips (Php55) or Butterscotch and Banana (Php95). Burgoo’s Butterscotch and Banana is really good and complements the fluffiness of the pancakes. It’s not too sweet. Just the right level of sweetness to elevate the pancake dining experience.
Whatever you order, be Filipino Favorites or Continental Breakfast, it comes with coffee, tea or orange juice. And if you want your drinks bottomless, you just need to add Php45.
Burgoo’s Delicious Big Breakfast is available all day at Tomas Morato (which opens at 9:00 a.m.) and at Rockwell Center (which opens at 10:00 a.m.).
ALL roads led to Angono when the quiet but progressive town in the province of Rizal celebrated its annual Higantes Festival, and leading the way was a fleet of newly redesigned Nissan Almeras—sleek, shimmering and aerodynamic sedans in Brilliant Silver, Alpine White, Bluish Black and Titanium Grey driven by motoring and lifestyle media practitioners to take part in the colorful festival.
The media road trip served as the formal launch of Nissan Philippines Inc. and the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB)’s Visit the Philippines, Drive to Discover with Nissan program, which is aimed at stimulating local tourism and promoting road travel to tourism destinations recommended by the TPB. The TPB is the marketing and promotions arm of the Department of Tourism (DOT), and the Visit the Philippines, Drive to Discover with Nissan program is proof that it is really serious about promoting road travel as a more fun and exciting way to get to a tourism destination because you get to explore other places, meet more people, experience the culture and taste the local cuisine of the places that you pass along the way. And Nissan Philippines is the perfect partner because it provides the vehicle to make the road trip a reality.
Twelve-foot papier-mache giants standing outside the Municipal Hall of Angono
So, together, they launch the program and set off to Angono, Rizal, for the Higantes Festival to experience the road adventure that they encourage everyone to take. Groups of two to four media practitioners got into each Nissan Almera at Capitol Commons for the early morning trip, with the Almera being chosen by the top officials of Nissan Philippines headed by president and managing director Antonio Zara for the sedan’s class-leading spaciousness.
“If the Higantes bring ‘bigness in size’ in top of mind recall, so does the new Almera in terms of not just cabin space but also trunk space,” says Zara.
The convoy of newly redesigned Nissan Almeras embark on a road trip to discover Angono, Rizal
The steering wheel and fully digital and high-tech instrument panel
Boomerang-inspired headlamps
Bigger and bolder front grills
A huge trunk space is an advantage on a road trip because it can be utilized for baggage and refreshments, among other stuff that will make a road trip so much more enjoyable. Besides spaciousness, the Nissan Almera boasts of a remote keyless system with push-button start, automatic transmission, and rear view camera. It’s also the first in its segment to offer dual ventilation and speed control rear comfort fan that improves cabin air circulation and keeps the passengers comfortably cool through the entire trip, even if it’s scorching hot outside. Its sleek and contemporary design includes new boomerang-inspired headlamps, redesigned front and rear bumpers, front and trunk chrome accents, a redesigned rear spoiler and a bigger and bolder front grill. Its interiors feature a redesigned center cluster, leather-trimmed seats for the top-ranging 1.5L variant, and excellent knee room and headroom. It also offers convenience for both driver and passengers with various cup and bottle holders at the center console and door sidings.
The big small sedan thus makes any road trip, be it a short or long one, so much more comfortable.
Despite a bit of traffic along the way, the trip to Angono proved to be a fun, comfortable and exciting one, with the fleet of Nissan Almeras catching quite a bit of attention as it made its way to Balaw-Balaw Restaurant and Art Gallery along Doña Justa St. for early lunch. The most famous restaurant in Angono, Balaw-Balaw serves exotic dishes such as Sizzling Crocodile, Crispy Crickets, Nilasing na Palaka, Adobong Balot, Soup No. 5, Sizzling Butts and Balls and Tapang Usa, although it also offers classic Filipino dishes like Laing, Nilasing na Hipon, Bulalo, Crispy Kangkong, Nag-aapoy na Pata, Pinakbet and Guinataang Kuhol.
Balaw-Balaw Restaurant and Art Gallery’s Sizzling Crocodile
Laing served at Balaw-Balaw
A life-sized interpretation of The Last Supper can be found at Balaw-Balaw’s art gallery on the second floor
Diners get to enjoy these in an artistic environment, as Balaw-Balaw is also an art gallery with artworks—sculptures, paintings, religious art and décor—all around. On the second floor is an actual art gallery, where diners can even find a life-sized interpretation of The Last Supper.
After having a sumptuous lunch at Balaw-Balaw, the group proceeded to the Municipal Hall of Angono to make a courtesy call on Mayor Gerardo ‘Gerry’ Calderon, who warmly welcomed the group to his office. He cheerfully talked about the Higantes Festival that made his town famous. Twelve-foot papier-mâché higantes effigies parade along the streets of Angono in honor of the town’s patron saint, San Clemente. The figures are held together by a person within the higantes’ wooden-framed cavity. These days, however, the wooden frame has been conveniently replaced by tubes and wires.
Mayor Calderon also shared his pride in having Angono recognized as the Art Capital of the Philippines, since it is home to two National Artists, Carlos ‘Botong’ Francisco for visual arts and Maestro Lucio San Pedro for music.
Nissan Philippines’ general manager for marketing SJ Huh, Angono Mayor Gerardo Calderon, and Nissan Philippines’ president and managing director Antonio Zara
The grand parade of the Higantes Festival begins…
A Gangnam Higante
This gentle giant serves food!
A Chef Higante
Morion Higantes
St. Clement Parish
Inside the church…
The words and notes of National Artist for Music Lucio San Pedro immortalized
Then it was off to the streets of Angono to wait to catch the Parade of Higantes. The group converged on the grounds of St. Clement Parish and then met the grand parade on foot, skirting the crowds to take good close-up shots and snacking on toasted cashews and suman bought from the sidewalk stalls afterwards. Aside from the usual higantes, this year’s Higantes Festival had Chef Higantes, Gangnam Higantes and Morion Higantes.
After sweating it out under the sun, the group got back behind the wheels of their Nissan Almeras for a countryside drive up to Thunderbird Resorts & Casinos Rizal in neighboring Binangonan, taking advantage of the sedan’s easy handling capability, vaunted cooling and generous leg space to reach their home for the night. Over a sumptuous buffet dinner, Nissan Philippines Inc.’s general manager for marketing SJ Huh and Tourism Promotion Board’s project development officer Milo Oropeza met the media and talked about their partnership for the Visit the Philippines, Drive to Discover with Nissan campaign.
Tourism Promotions Board’s project development officer Milo Oropeza (left) and Nissan Philippines Inc.’s general manager for marketing SJ Huh (right)
Thunderbird Resorts and Casinos Rizal
The pool area offers a breathtaking view
A spacious room at Thunderbird
Thunderbird’s Olives Restaurant
“We are happy to partner with Nissan in order to strategically bring the best of the Philippines closer to more people. There are still many interesting places to visit, sights to see, and activities to try that are unique to the country. By working with Nissan, we hope the public will be encouraged to make new discoveries on the road,” says Oropeza.
The tunnel that serves as entrance to the Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs
The fleet of sleek Nissan Almeras parked right outside the Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs site
The view deck where visitors can see but not touch the petroglyphs
These drawings of human and animal-like figures date back 3,000 years
After a hearty breakfast at Thunderbird’s Olives Restaurant the next morning, the convoy of sleek Nissan Almeras set off again to discover yet another attraction in the area—the Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs. This cultural heritage site dates back to 3,000 years ago and is regarded as the oldest prehistoric Filipino work of art. It’s made up of some 127 drawings, mostly of human and animal-like figures, on the stones; and it was National Artist Carlos ‘Botong’ Francisco himself who discovered it by accident during a camping trip with boy scouts. Back then, Francisco lay down in a rock shelter to rest after a series of activities with the boy scouts, when he looked up and around him and saw the drawings on the walls. He told the authorities what he had found, and efforts to date the drawings followed. The authorities gathered evidence through diggings around the area and found stone tools that were present during the late Neolithic Period. These became the basis in dating the drawings, although no indigenous people were found around the area to help explain the meaning of the drawings. In 1973, the rock art was declared by the National Museum of the Philippines as a National Cultural Treasure. It became one of the world’s 100 most endangered heritage sites due to neglect and vandalism, so a view deck was built to keep people from touching the petroglyphs and vandalizing them as well. The effort proved to be an effective way of preserving the petroglyphs, which visitors can reach on foot from the entrance of a tunnel manually carved from a mountain.
A cool, relaxed and comfortable road trip on board Nissan Almeras
The group marveled at the amazing petroglyphs, got back to Thunderbird Resort to have lunch and pick up their stuff, and then set off on a leisurely drive back to Capitol Commons to conclude the pilot run of Nissan Philippines and TPB’s Visit the Philippines, Drive to Discover with Nissan campaign. The program will see monthly road trips with members of media to various destinations to be set by the TPB.
It has only just begun exploring the wonders of the Philippines.
Eight-year-old chef Estie Kung working on her salmon dish
EIGHT-year-old child wonder Estie Kung is one of the stars of Lifetime’s Man vs. Child: Chef Showdown, so when she found herself in a culinary faceoff with Filipino celebrity chef Sau Del Rosario at the Diplomatic Hall, Grand Ballroom, of Marriott Hotel Manila last Wednesday (January 13, 2016), she showed no fear and gamely took on the seasoned chef.
Little chef Estie is on an Asian tour of Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore to promote Man vs. Child: Chef Showdown, an A+E Networks production that premieres in Asia on January 26, 2016, and will be on every Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on SkyCable Ch 65, SkyCable HD Ch 199, Destiny Cable Ch 44 (Analogue) Ch 65 (Digital) and other select provincial channels. The showdown with chef Sau Del Rosario last Wednesday was Chef Estie’s meet-up with Philippine media.
It’s a culinary showdown between Filipino celebrity chef Sau Del Rosario and half-Chinese, half-American kiddie chef Estie Kung
The adorable child has innate culinary talent
She’s still so young and small that she has to step on a pedestal to reach her cooking station
Chef Sau Del Rosario gamely takes on the young chef
Hosted by chef and TV personality Adam Gertler, Man vs. Child: Chef Showdown is an exciting cooking competition series that features pint-sized prodigies taking on culinary veterans. It’s a 13-episode series that follows a team of five up-and-coming child cooking wunderkinds—Estie, 8; Dylan, 11; Emmalee, 12; Cloyce, 13; and Holden, 14—who face off against a different executive level chef each week for bragging rights.
Each episode is made up of three rounds of cooking set to test the competitors’ abilities and kitchen mastery, such as making sausages from scratch and preparing the perfect omelette. The kids nominate a teammate to face off against the expert in each challenge. In the first two rounds, resident judges and commentators (chef-restaurateur Mike Isabella and private chef to the stars Alia Zaine) will taste the dishes to determine which chef has created the most delicious and creative plate.
The winner of each of the first two events will be awarded an advantage in the next round, which includes preventing their competitor from tasting their food as they prepare it and forcing them to take a 10-minute break during the allotted cooking time. The final round will feature a blind taste-test by a world-renowned master chef, such as Hubert Keller and Ludo Lefebvre, that will determine the ultimate winner. Will it be the professionals or the kids?
The series premiere is titled Don’t Under-ESTIE-mate Her and features Chef Estie Kung, who is the youngest chef on the show. She cooks up a mean Korean fried chicken dish with kimchi mayonnaise and gochujang gastrique. Chef Estie, who is half-Chinese and half-American and lives in Los Angeles, California, shows the stuff she’s made of and wows the adults on the show.
Plating her dish now…
To drum up awareness and interest in Man vs. Child: Chef Showdown, Chef Estie (yes, she loves to be addressed as ‘Chef’) is on a promotional tour of Asia for the show’s launch on Lifetime. In each country that she visits, Chef Estie is pitted against a local chef of celebrity status, and, in the Philippines, it happened to be Chef Sau.
Showing respect and admiration for each other, Chef Sau and Chef Estie gamely cooked away during their culinary showdown at Marriott. As always, Chef Sau calmly prepared an impressive dish, Sea Bass with Mushroom Risotto, while Chef Estie stepped on a high pedestal to reach the work station and went to work on her Grilled Salmon with Clam Chowder Sauce. The two finished cooking one after the other, gave each other a High Five, and then tasted each other’s dishes.
Chef Sau loved Chef Estie’s crunchy-on-the-outside and tender-on-the-inside salmon, while Chef Estie could not stop eating Chef Sau’s sea bass with risotto dish.
After cooking up a storm, the two taste each other’s dishes
The little chef could not stop eating Chef Sau’s sea bass with risotto dish
A natural in front of the camera, Chef Estie started cooking at age 3, after about a year of watching her mom Laura prepare their family meals and asking her mom tons of questions about the dishes she cooks. The child wonder watched Junior Master Chefs and wanted to join but was still underage at that time. Now that she’s on Man vs. Child: Chef Showdown, she wants everyone to watch it and see how she measures up against all the veteran chefs and how she fares among the kiddie prodigies on the show.
“We think Man vs. Child: Chef Showdown will really resonate with the audiences in Asia. Child prodigies and cooking competition shows have already proven their popularity on Lifetime, and this show has both of those ingredients. It’s wholesome entertainment for the entire family in a region where people are passionate about their food. We’re launching our ‘more than #JustAKid’ campaign in celebration of children on Lifetime. Our aim is to showcase exceptional kids who prove that what young ones lack in experience, they make up for with creativity and enthusiasm. If given the chance, children will usually exceed expectations of grown-ups,” says Michele Schofield, senior vice president for Programming & Production, A+E Networks Asia.
AFTER Noche Buena, the next big celebration lined up for the rest of the holidays is Media Noche on New Year’s Eve. Of course you’re preparing other festive dishes to serve on the dining table. If you’re looking for new ideas, consider Cassoulet Toulousain. A classic French bean and sausage stew that originates from the Toulouse region of France, it was one of the dishes prepared by Chef Robbie Ripalda of The Domaine in Silang, Cavite, for the Le Réveillon: A French White Christmas put together by the San Miguel Pure Foods Culinary Center.
The recipe:
100 ml. Ibero Olive Oil
750 grams Purefoods Deli Bockwurst
750 grams Purefoods Deli Schublig
600 grams Purefoods Classic Honey Cured Bacon, cubed
8 pcs. red onions, minced
3 pcs. carrots, diced
3 kgs. tomatoes, blanched, peeled, deseeded and minced
1/2 kg. garlic
1500 ml. chicken stock
2 kgs. white beans, soaked in water overnight
1 pc. bay leaf
peppercorns to taste
thyme to taste
200 grams breadcrumbs
1. In a wide pot, heat oil and pan-roast sausages and bacon until caramelized.
2. Remove from pan and add onion, carrots, tomatoes and garlic.
3. Pour in chicken stock. Add white beans, bay leaf, peppercorns, thyme, and caramelized sausages and bacon. Simmer until beans are cooked and the flavors come together. Adjust seasoning if needed.
4. Transfer to baking dish and sprinkle top with breadcrumbs. Bake for 15 minutes or until breadcrumbs are brown.
FACIAL expressions reflect what a person feels. A smile indicates that he (or she) is happy. A frown shows displeasure. Brows that are arched should tell you that he’s angry. Sadness can also be read easily from one’s face. But when these facial expressions are on a pie, they tell you what filling or flavor it has. So you’ll definitely see a lot of different faces on the pies, both savory and sweet, of Pie Face.
