When In Manila, you can be a food critic for a day by joining The Ultimate Taste Test!
We were invited to be part of this fun and food-filled event held at the Soderno Market in Molito, Alabang last July 29, 2012. The weather was uncooperative but no rain can stop us from what we love the most — FOOD!
The Ultimate Taste Test started out as a “taste test” among friends and neighbors and eventually, it grew into a sold-out event that drew in crowds eager to try the latest food discoveries and rate them as well.
Foodies can join the Ultimate Taste Test for a fee of P300 and with it they get to sample the specialties of the participating merchants and rate it on the “passport” handed upon entrance. This year’s Ultimate Taste Test had around 25-30 merchants armed with their innovative and specialty dishes for each food critic-slash-attendee to enjoy.
It was my first time to join The Ultimate Taste Test and I didn’t know what to expect aside from the known fact that my palate and my stomach capacity will be fully utilized. I honestly recommend you do not go to the taste test with a full stomach, just eat something light so that you can enjoy all the tasting you’ll be doing because you’ll be doing a lot of it!
The Ultimate Taste Test “passport“.
Each attendee will rate the merchant’s dishes using the passport. Don’t forget to bring a pen!
Rating goes on a scale of 1 to 5 and goes like this (from OAP):
1- Thank You but I had Better. (If you don’t like it at all, rate it 1)
2- It is OK. (If it is good but not memorable)
3- We had a good time. (If you had fun eating it)
4- I love it! (If the food is really good and you would order it)
5- Awesome! I would recommend it! (If the food is really good that you would tell everyone about)
Let the food degustation begin!
There were a lot of choices that I got confused on where to begin. But already decided that the desserts would go last. 😀
Manila Q’s Bagwang. I’ve been seeing this in Mercato but haven’t got the chance to give it a try. At first bite, it was really good, crispy and flavorful! I think it’s called Bagwang because it’s bagnet + bawang. Am I right? Nevertheless, we liked it!
Happy Panda’s Chicken shots in 3 flavors: Panda’s Chicken with their signature sauce, the Panda’s Asian Buffalo and Panda’s Satay-Gravy Chicken. We loved their Panda’s Chicken variety!
Chicago Pizza pizzas and lasagna.
Crispy Isaw and Laman Loob of Nina’s Grill. We really loved this one! It was really tasty! And if I am to recommend some good pulutan, this would definitely be on the list!
Chef Bab’s Sisig by Dads Moms Kitchen.
Their Squid Sisig was hands down good! I rated it 5! I love my pork sisig but this squid sisig made me change my mind.
Isaw from Showbiz Isaw (left) and porridge from Royal Brands.
You might be wondering what’s with the porridge, right? Well, here’s the answer.
Royal Brand’s Fish Sauce (patis) goes with the porridge. And I should say that it was my comfort food for the night. Lugaw on a cold, rainy evening was just perfect. Plus, the patis complimented it very well.
Balamban Liempo of Cebu.
This one’s good! But I would’ve preferred to have it a little hot when served and maybe with some rice.
Crunchy Belly by Carlo’s Kitchen. What can I say? It’s good and really crunchy!
Mama Lou’s Italian Kitchen’s Panzarotti.
We also loved them pizza pockets filled with yummy goodness. We had ours paired with the tomato sauce and really enjoyed it.
Calidad Española chorizos. You could say that these are high quality Spanish chorizos with every bite.
Polland’s fresh lumpia. This one’s also a must try! They also served kikiam, kuchay-ah and camaron.
Mommy Corrie’s VIP Chicharon.
Although weren’t able to taste everything on the list, there were a few more interesting dishes I wanted to try like Bread Winner’s Pulled Pork burger, Tonton Chaya’s Ramen and Okonomiyaki, Piper Pan’s ensaymada, Pure Flavors’ sorbet and some of the drinks available like Organikka’s healthy vegetable juice drinks, the Khao Shong Thai Instant Coffee, Goofy Goat’s Kape Liquer, Dairy Fresh Goat’s Milk and Mocktail Republic’s drinks.
Mocktail Republic‘s Mango Margarita that I failed to taste but took a photo instead. #fail
After an hour or so of food-tasting I was so full already, but of course, there is always room for desserts!
This was one of our favorites. Red Velvet Crinkles by Little Bites Cupcakery. They were sooo good that I instantly fell in love with it at first bite.
Next is Nutella Rocks of Baked Bites. Nutella is love! And so are these Nutella Rocks!
Merry Moo Artisan Ice Cream. They won the Ultimate Taste Test 7.0.
They introduced a new flavor, the Chili Bacon Tablea. But my favorite was the Coffee Toffee one.
These red velvet and vanilla mini cupcakes from Bambi’s House of Dessert delighted my sweet tooth as well. I really liked the red velvet, it wasn’t overly sweet and the cupcake was moist.
Last but not the least, Liquor Ice Cream by Frisch. I don’t drink alcoholic drinks because I’m allergic but upon tasting Frisch’s Russian Winter, I couldn’t care less about my allergies. Who would’ve thought that liquor ice cream would be so good? Russian Winter is made of Kahlua with vodka. It was creamy and sweet and I loved it! I actually went back for a second taste.
It was already 9PM and we had to leave but Soderno was still packed with foodies enjoying the night of food-tasting madness.
Our congratulations to the organizers of the UTT 9.0 for the very delicious and successful food-tasting event!
Given the chance, I’ll definitely be present on the next Ultimate Taste Test!
So When In Manila, put your taste buds to the test and join the next Ultimate Taste Test! We’ll see you there!
Be a Food Critic for a Day at the Ultimate Taste Test 9.0!
