Knorr’s All-in-One Seasoning Mix aka Real Sarap (translated: real good taste) is the latest craze by homemakers and cooks. What makes it different from all the other seasoning mixes? It contains real herbs and spices and is not totally artificial, unlike most other products. These spices have been touted by Knorr to add real goodness to any dish. So to prove it, Knorr invited friends from the press and the blogging community and prepared a buffet spread that served food cooked with the new Real Sarap. As far as this blogger is concerned, it was all good and Knorr was true to its word. There was nothing special with the dishes they served as one could tell that the dishes were nothing out of the ordinary. However, the seasoning mix did make it taste even better and that’s what I like most about Knorr. Unilever people made sure that good food was within reach by anyone who had a kitchen and basic cooking skills. Indeed, Real Sarap seasoning mix took care of the rest.

It was nice to see Claudine Barreto, Kristine Bersola-Babao and Raymart Santiago all graced the launch and we all got to see Claudine cook her famous Adobong Ilonggo (chicken and pork stewed in soy sauce and vinegar cooked in the ways of the people from Iloilo City), which I really liked! Recipe is listed below. I highly recommend you try it with the Knorr’s All-in-One Seasoning Mix, also known as the Knorr Real Sarap Seasoning for maximum taste!

Recipe for Adobong Ilonggo

Ingredients:

½ kg Chicken
½ kg Pork Liempo
1 tsp Garlic, crushed
2 slices Ginger, crushed
1 pc Onion, sliced
1 tsp Whole Peppercorn
1/3 cup Vinegar
2 tbsp Knorr Liquid Seasoning
½ cup Water
1 tsp Achuete Powder
1 pack Knorr Real Sarap 7g

Procedures:

1. In a small bowl combine all ingredients except chicken, pork and achuete.

2. Add Knorr Real Sarap to season.

3. In a wok, place the pork and the chicken, taking care that the pork is closer to the bottom of the pan.

4. Pour in the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer until tender.

5. Dissolve achuete powder in 1 tbsp of water and mix into the meat.

6. Continue cooking until the oil comes out. Mix well. Serve and enjoy!

It was great to see my idol Heny Sison present at the launch! I was hesitant in asking her to have my picture taken with her, but she was really nice and she readily obliged. I told her I frequently watched her cooking show some years ago and I made sure I never missed an episode. Noreen knows how much I loved watching her show!

It was a great day ! I will start using the Real Sarap and hope against hope that I don’t get fatter from all that food!

The Peninsula Hotel, Manila introduces a new and exciting way of enjoying an old dessert favorite. I highly recommend you visit the Pen and dessert to your heart’s delight! It’s ice cream like you’ve never had before.

With Unilever stepping in, Selecta ice cream has practically become the national ice cream brand besting all other brands and being the only ice cream in the world to have successfully made the first real ice cream on a stick!

Selecta now makes premiere ice cream flavors exclusively for the Peninsula Hotel, Manila. Yes, the wonderful ice cream concoctions of Chef Adam Mathis can be enjoyed at the Lobby of the Peninsula Manila, where wonderful dessert memories are made.

This is the Pen Pal. All 19 scoops of premium ice cream resting on a bed of fresh pineapple chunks, honeydew, cantaloupe and watermelon, topped with two large maraschino cherries, eight waffles sticks, 15 marshmallows, whipped cream and finally drizzled with chocolate sauce. How much more wonderful can it get?

Of course I couldn’t finish it by myself. Such wonderful goodness is meant for sharing. Other ice cream greats were paraded during the launch.

My personal favorite was the Cafe Crumble Creation.

Mind you, that striped thing is NOT a wafer stick. It is pure chocolate.

Halo-halo Harana is still available. It’s a real classic!

Choco Loco Brownie Sundae is perfect on a Sunday afternoon.

Lori Balthazar and Carlos Celdran also came for their share of the ice cream.

Everyone enjoyed the ice cream as well as the regular goodies of the Lobby at the Pen. Grab your ice cream creations this November and make your own happy memories with your friends and family at the Lobby of the Peninsula Hotel, Manila.

Unilever’s Fearless Kitchen Challenge did challenge me and my supposed skills in the kitchen. The idea was that each team would cook four dishes using lamb as the main ingredient. I was both excited and scared because I don’t really have that much skill in the kitchen, except when it’s time to eat.

The participants were divided into three teams and I was chosen to join team 3 with Chef Ryan Lastra. Before the cooking challenge, we were briefed on safety measures that should be followed when in the kitchen. Because we were expected to stand up during the entire time of the contest, we were given Crocs to make sure that we would be at our most comfortable. I chose the Mario Batali Crocs, I loved the orange color, and yes, they really are comfortable. We were standing from 10 am to 12.45 and I hardly felt tired. Maybe it was the excitement, but a heavyweight like me would have been terribly exhausted standing for so long. However, the Crocs kept me standing with my dignity intact. Now I know why Mario Batali loves his Crocs. I love mine too.

There were bloggers in the event, but participants were mostly from the print media like magazines and dailies. Recognize anyone you know?

Yup, you saw it here first! Juned’s team with Chef Datu won first place. Though our team with Chef Ryan Lastra didn’t bag top prize, we all felt winners with our creations. Just look at what we did.

Our Lamb Bistek Tagalog on a bed of risotto.

Our Lamb Kaldereta.

Our Lamb Sinigang.

Finally, (I think this is the best of the lot) our Lamb Kilawin.

Like I said, I’m still a winner. Tessa was very nice and was really the life of the event. Thanks for gracing the event Miss Tessa!