This post is written by our friend and guest writer for Manila Reviews, Nikki Gloria-Dizon, who aside from being a dedicated mother & wife and brand manager-extraordinaire, is also a foodie like us! Thanks for sharing your experience, Nikki!

The thought of free good food is just too tempting to pass up. A friend offered me tickets to Our Awesome Planet and San Miguel Lifestyle Brews’ Ultimate Taste Test 4.0. Being the foodie that I am, I quickly jumped at the opportunity to sample fare from the promised 50 suppliers offering a wide range of foodstuff from savoury selections to homemade sweet treats.

This degustation celebration was well-attended, as expected, as throngs of food lovers, bloggers and curious palates packed the NBC tent. The food trays ran out when I got there so the original intent to just taste, shoot and take notes quickly progressed to becoming a juggling 101 course. Along with other “jugglers”, I turned and dodged my way around the food circus to find these gems…

Best Over-All Taste Test Experience: JAM Foods’ Angus Beef Tapa

The line was long but true to the adage… it was VERY MUCH WORTH THE WAIT! The tapa, sliced thinly, has to it the perfect blend of sweet and salty. The tapa experience is even taken a notch higher because it’s of the Angus beef kind—tender, tasty, with just enough fat to bring you to heaven and back. Needless to say, I went home with two kilos of this ready-to-cook winner. (Php 500 per kilo)

Runner Up: DULCELIN’s Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese. Filling, tasty, with generous cheesy goodness.

Best Dessert/Sweet Treat: CAMBELI’s Dulce de Leche Cake

Creamy cheesecake with toffee pieces, made even better by the indulgent caramel sauce on top. Among all the cheesecakes there, for me this was “the fairest of them all”. It’s the kind of dessert you savor every bite of and not just wolf down. CAMBELI’s Chocolate Praline Ganache also tops my desserts list.

Runner Up: Purple Dough’s Peanut Butter Cookies. Reminiscent of Reese’s, the cookies are also chewy and chunky, the way homemade cookies are supposed to be and more.

Best Packaging: FRUIT GARDEN LUXURY JAMS

I’m not a fan of jam but this line of luxury jams is just too pretty to ignore! The packaging is minimalist, echoing the all-natural attitude their company applies to their goods. The jams are made in small-batches from all-natural ingredients, cooked in a copper cauldron. A medium-sized jar is Php 140 and a sampler set of 6 costs Php 350. I’m not a jam fan but I enjoyed their Orange Whiskey variant.

Best Brand Ambassadors: GOLDEA RICE BRAN OIL

While others sold food and beverage, they sold cooking oil. Still they managed to engage me with their passion for their product and animated brand talk. Rice bran oil is supposedly a healthier, yet tastier alternative to typical cooking oil. A liter costs Php 250.

Special Citation:

CHILE VITAS – Delicious sauces and dips in sexy packaging with Cracklin’ Cropeck to boot. Hot!

Though we left the event really thirsty and smelling like a walking office cafeteria, I’d say I would love to do this again. Props to Anton and Rache Diaz for organizing events that bring together the gourmands of the metro. Looking forward to 5.0! In the meantime, I have my JAM FOODS Angus Beef tapa to be excited for.

Contact Info:
JAM Foods & Co. Premium Homemade Products – (02) 502-5282; (0922) 8505658
CAMBELI Homebaked Cakes & Pastries – (02)4355467; (0917)8103807
GOLDEA Rice Bran Oil – (02) 5131903
CHILE VITAS – (02) 8125001; (0920) 5917001