So, let’s say you proposed on Valentine’s Day, February 14, and she said YES!, then head to SM Megamall Megatrade Halls 1,2 and 3 on February 17, 18 and 19, 2012 for the Weddings and Debuts Bridal Fair 2012.

The Weddings and Debuts Bridal Fair is an annual event organized by The Wedding Library, your complete resource for all your wedding needs. The press conference was sponsored by Edd Sy (wedding gown designer), Nice Print Photo and AMI Jeweler. Special thanks to Ms. Winnie Natividad of The Wedding Library for organizing this event.

Weddings are not complete without the catering, right? And for me, aside from the bride’s wedding gown, another important aspect of a wedding is the food,  it’s what lingers after and it’s what the guests are talking about even months after your wedding. Guests will forget about the complex beads on your gown but they won’t forget how delicious are your appetizers/main dishes/desserts, etc…

Enter Juan Carlo the Caterer… At the press conference, we were fed by the caterer for the stars. Juan Carlo is the choice of celebrity weddings like Ogie Alcasid and Regine Velasquez, Kyla and Rich Alvarez and Bong Revilla and Lanie Mercado. He is the regular caterer of Sharon Cuneta too…

After sampling the offerings of Juan Carlo the Caterer, I have no hesitations on getting him as the caterer for my own wedding too. The buffet table is attractive, the food is beautifully laid out and the servers are courteous and helpful.

Now, please allow me to bombard you with delicious food photos served by Juan Carlo the Caterer…

I love desserts! So the succeeding photos are all the desserts served at the press con

Pandan Panna Cotta

Tropical Fruit Pavlova

Now, you know who to contact as your wedding’s caterer, right? For the other suppliers, remember to drop by at SM Megamall’s Megatrade Halls on February 17 to 19, 2012.

Dig in…

It’s one of their new flavors and is available for a limited time only. I don’t know how long but I’ll make sure to stock up with these. One of those snacks that are addicting, I can finish a whole tub in one sitting if I don’t control myself, lol!

Chef Tony’s popcorn is the next best thing when it comes to popcorn, when I don’t have time to go all the way to MOA to get my fix of caramel popcorn from Chicago Popcorn Shops.

What’s your popcorn brand? And your fave flavor?

Happy Lemon Cocoa with Rock Salt and Cheese, large, Php 100

I ordered the Cocoa with Rock Salt and Cheese and excitedly sipped the concoction. Sipping from the straw, it tasted like faint unconcentrated cold chocolate, this is from someone who dislikes drinking cold milo, Chuckie or any other chocolate beverages other than Starbucks’ Iced Chocolate.

I drank it from the cup to be able to taste the creamy mixture on top. But nothing still impressed me, it’s like a flavored whipped cream which I don’t like in my  frappucino .

I must have ordered the wrong flavors and will give Happy Lemon another try. In the meantime, I’ll just enjoy my fave drinks from Gong Cha, Chatime, Serenitea and Zen Tea.

Theo & Philo artisan chocolates

Ever heard of artisan chocolates? It’s the first time I’ve heard of this and with some googling:

Artisan chocolate, like any artisan product—jewelry, furniture, couture clothing—is handmade by a skilled artisan in small batches, using time-honored and honed skills. Modern artisans are also innovators in flavor and technique. No assembly line is used to make artisan products and they are never made in large quantity; you will find chocolatiers in the kitchen preparing and packing each batch. A batch of 10,000 boxes or bars is not an artisan product.

Theo & Philo Chocolates is proud of being a bean to bar chocolate. The cacao is from Davao and sugar is from Bacolod, locally made with local ingredients.

There are a number of varieties and I bought 70% dark chocolate, labuyo, green mango & salt and barako.

• Dark chocolate is really strong.
• Labuyo is very unique, the spiciness kicks in at the back of your tongue, kind of a surprise taste.
• The barako coffee flavor is strong too and has a different texture because of the coffee granules at the center. Coffee lovers will like this, I guess.
• Green Mango & Salt sounds a weird combination for a chocolate but it’s addicting. This is my favorite among the bunch. Think of a fruit & nut flavored chocolate, instead of the raisin, it’s the green mango for this one. The rock salt in the chocolate is some sort of a gem hidden in the bar.

Every year, a committee will survey what we want to include in our baskets and they will take that survey into consideration. Here are some Christmas basket suggestions:

• Christmas Ham – It’s Christmas and it’s never complete without a ham
• Chocolates – lots of ‘em
• Spam – Turkey and 50% less sodium
• Libby’s Vienna Sausage
• Delimondo Corned Beef
• Gift Certificates – Starbucks and SM GCs
• Goober Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich spread
• Pringles Sour Cream & Onion
• Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream
• Red Wine – for the toast for the new year
• Belgian beer or imported dark beers – Jeff likes dark beers
• Pasta
• Spaghetti sauce
• Queso de Bola
• Fruitcake
• Cookies
• Salsa Dips
• Nachos
• Fruit cocktail mix

We already knew that the ribs are a must-try so we ordered it the moment we sat down.

Baby Back Ribs, Half (good for 2-3 persons) - Php 450; Full - Php 700

Indeed, they have the right to be famous because of their lip-smacking ribs. Just the right tenderness and grilled just to have a smoky flavor. I like it because the servings are just right for 3-4 persons. You can also ask for extra barbecue sauce without charge.

We also had grilled eggplant with bagoong as a side dish for Php 80. The bagoong is so addicting because it has the right combination of sweet and salty.

Next time, we’ll try their other grilled offerings like the Korean liempo.

PS: if you have time, I hope you can drop by my health and beauty blog (link is at the left sidebar) for beauty products reviews such as bb creams, eyelash growth products, foundations, etc…

look out for this sign just near the Havaianas store in Station 1

When we get there, tables were already full at around 10 am. Real Coffee is open as early as 7 am by the way. I immediately asked for their calamansi muffins, of course! But the staff said that they already ran out of calamansi muffins and they’re just about to bake. So I got their Ultimate Muffin instead and Jeff ordered their pancakes with two eggs.

Pancake with Two Eggs, Php 140

Eggs are cooked just the way I like it, runny yolk. But the pancakes are just your ordinary pancakes, nothing special. This came with a cup of coffee, which tasted good.

Ultimate Muffin (carrot, pineapple, banana, walnut & raisins), Php 60

Reading all that comes in this muffin, this is indeed the ultimate muffin! And it also packs a lot of yumminess!

super moist!

Real Coffee’s Ultimate Muffin is my fave! Super moist and doesn’t scrimp on ingredients, you can actually taste all of the fruits and walnuts plus the cinnamon.

After a while, I heard a group of new diners came and ordered the famed calamansi muffins, and they now have freshly baked calamansi muffins. I’m already finished with my Ultimate Muffin so I asked for their calamansi muffin.

calamansi muffin, Php 45

Honestly, after tasting the calamansi muffin, I don’t get it why this is so hyped up. Perhaps those who raved about the calamansi muffin didn’t taste the Ultimate Muffin. Because for me, Ultimate Muffin is better than this one. It’s packed and filling alright, but it’s a bit dry. The tart taste from the calamansi is only present from the outside part of the muffin.

So it’s the Ultimate Muffin for me on my next visit but go ahead and order the calamansi muffins just for curiosity’s sake.

Manila got caught up in the milk tea craze too and so Gong Cha is finally here…

Gong Cha

Tried their Milk Wintermelon Tea, Php 95 for large size plus Php 15 for pearls. This will be my staple order next time, I chose the 100% sugar level and still it’s not sickly sweet. I also have to try their Caramel Milk Tea because I’m a caramel lover, Php 90 for large size plus Php 15 for pearls. I can taste the caramel flavor but still has the distinct tea flavor, not sweet at all even at 100% sugar level.

Have you tried Gong Cha? What other milk tea places/variants you like?

Tapa meal

Jeff had tapa. As you can see, the egg was not freshly cooked. Just from the looks of it, it’s not appetizing.

Chicken Thyme with Creamy Cheese Sauce

I also didn’t like this because the thyme is overpowering the whole meal. I can’t taste the cheese sauce either.

Good thing we’re hungry at that time so we just ate what we ordered.

Posh Sumo Sam interiors

Sumo Sam has an extensive menu, from rice meals, sushi and ramen. Jeff had their rice meal, Beef Yakiniku.

Beef Yakiniku, Php 248

Generous servings of meat and veggies, the flavorful sauce is on the sweet side. Sumo Sam really did not scrimp on ingredients and with the servings too, this plate can be shared by two people.

Shoyu Ramen, Php 299

I asked the staff if they have spicy ramen, unfortunately they don’t have spicy ones so I settled for Shoyu Ramen. It’s taste is far from an authentic ramen and is quite ordinary. I like the well-cooked noodles but it’s tastes like instant noodles for me. Again, servings is huge and good for sharing.

They have 3 kinds of iced tea, we had the bottomless red and green iced tea. Next time, we’ll try their sushi.