Food Diary - Moulinex You Cook Video Challenge Semi-Finals Part 1

Hey Coffeeholics! I don't know about you but one of the things I love to watch on TV are the cook off type of shows where professionals or aspiring chefs go all out and cook and compete against each other to get to that most coveted NUMBER ONE spot! Well last Saturday, January 14, at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati, I was able to attend my very first live cook-off courtesy of the Moulinex You Cook Video Recipe Challenge 2.

Moulinex You Cook is a culinary competition where entries are submitted in video clips showing the ingredients and procedure through a cooking demo using Moulinex food preparation products. Currently enrolled Culinary Arts and Hotel and Restaurant Management students in Metro Manila aged 18 years old and above are the participants for this competition. Wonderful prizes await for the contestant, the mentor, and the school of the winner!

So I was invited to be a witness of this event and of course I jumped at the chance of being able to watch young and aspiring Celebrity Chefs or Restaurant Owners strut their stuff LIVE for everyone to see. Since it was the Semi-Finals already, only sixteen out of the numerous entries were chosen to battle it out for all of us there.

In this round, the contestants was given 1 1/2 hours to cook their submitted recipe and will be judged according to the following criteria:

1. Taste (30%)
2. Mise En Place/Ease of Preparation (20%)
3. Creativity/Originality (15%)
4. Visual Appeal (15%)
5. Optimazation of Moulinex products (15%)
6. Personality (5%)

Photo credit - MoulinexPh Facebook

Of course with this kind of event, Moulinex invited Chef Bruce Lim, Chef Nino Laus, Rory Subida, Nina Daza-Puyat, and Laurent Casteret as the esteemed panel of judges. With their knowledge, skill, and expertise in this area, it was enough to even fluster some of the contestants!

Moulinex  You Cook Semi-Finalists battling it out at InterContinental Hotel Makati

Cooking and Baking Area

So the Hotel Intercon function room was arranged in such a way to accommodate a set of 8 contestants at a time to prep, cook, bake, and do whatever they need to do to be able to "re-make" the dish that they submitted for the Moulinex You Cook Video Challenge 2. The theme chosen for this year is an original recipe of a Filipino International Fusion Cuisine. I must say that some if not most of the contestants really had interesting fusion dishes. A number of the "recipes" that got in the semi-finals had Malunggay in it! It was really cool how they were able to come up with this dishes! If you would like to see what our semi-finalists came up with for this contest, kindly drop by the Moulinex You Cook website and check out their video tutorials! AND not only that, why not vote for your favorite video as well? There is still an ongoing contest on which video recipe gets the "People's Choice Award".

Rochee Ann Rivera  starting to make her Quiche TInapa with Veggies

Leonelia de Castro using a Moulinex Product
AND YES, this is included in the criteria for judging!
She used several Cooking and Food Preparation Moulinex Products for her recipe.
That's the Moulinex Minuto Deep Fryer at the back of the grill.

Aldin Sinda being judged by Chef Bruce.

Aldin Sinda cooking his Risotto alla Melanise on an ELBA stove/

Anyway, the contestants were given 1 1/2 hours to finish their dish. And during the whole time, from preparing the equipment and ingredients that they were going to use up to the time that they were plating, each contestant was observed closely by each judge! The judges were free to talk and question them while they were cooking. It must have been really terrifying for some of them coz they not only had to concentrate on their dishes but had to explain and answer the judges' questions and inquiries. Not only that, but they really had to budget their time wisely!

2nd Batch of contestants about to start making their dishes with our emcee-
Miss Yovilyn Valenzuela, Brand Marketing Head of Moulinex and Krups.

Of course Ms. Yovilyn kept us (the audience) on track by keeping the contestants on their toes as she asked the contestants questions so to explain to us about the dish that they were making. Part of the criteria of judging for the semi-finalists was that they should have a pleasing personality. Definitely several contestants stood out as they handled the questions like a pro as they gamely interacted with us while cooking. Hmmm smells like potential celebrity chefs in the making!

Rosanna Ramel  just finished plating her pretty
 White Chocolate Moringa Mousse

Leonelia  De Castro about to finish plating her
Blackened Pasayan Inasal with Annato oil, Balsamic Vinegar Reduction,Adobo mousse,
fried Sotanghon, Bringhe and Pechay Tower
yeah, the recipe name is already a MOUTHFUL!
No pun intended!

Once done with the plating, each contestant can now present to the panel of judges their creations. Unfortunately due to the time limit, some were not able to finish their dish on time and had to present to the judges their unfinished or uncooked food. Sayang! 

The panel of judges then tasted the dish presented by each contestant.
Then the judges would give their "verdict."

Personally, I think the judges were very kind as compared to the judges that you can see on TV Cooking shows. They were gracious with their words but did doled out some constructive criticism when necessary. Sometimes they were even given a word of advice on how to improve themselves or their dish!
BUT of course,  there were also a rare few who had a special dose of Chef Bruce's "tough love" as he bluntly said his piece about their dish.

Yay was finally able to taste one of the entries of the contestants!
This is COTTAGE PIE by Juno Pocholo Sedigo. Yes I liked it a lot! Loved the mashed potato!

To be continued... 
Check out PART 2 of this Food Diary - Moulinex You Cook Video Challenge 2

OOTD - Plaid and Sherlock Holmes 2

This is what I wore when I was at Yabu:
Plaid Top - Bazaar
Black Tank Top - Random bazaar
Denim Shorts - Greenhills
Black Boots - Vintage

Accessories on right hand - SM Accessories
Watch - Timex
Necklace - belongs to my Sis

Hey Coffeeholics! How was your week? Lately the weather has been quite bipolar! The erratic changes of weather has been affecting my health but Thank You God I'm ok now and coping with the weather. Anyway, I've recently been enjoying wearing denim shorts. Haha. I'm not used to wearing shorts a lot but its really more practical during hot humid days. Especially when I'm commuting. The dark pink plaid top has been with me for years a while and I'm glad finally that I was able to wear it again. Plaid is definitely one fashion statement that has been around for centuries. Think Mel Gibson in Braveheart.. yes, that infamous piece of cloth they wrap around their lower bodies (aka skirts.. hehehe). Plaid fashion was originally more categorized as part of men's fashion but has made its crossover to us gals. Lucky us! Some say that plaid is out or that its sooo over. Guess again dearies.. I just checked out some department stores and its still in abundance!

Sherlock Holmes
A Game of Shadows
Photo Credit - Here

Speaking of plaid reminds me of Scotland Yard.. and SHERLOCK HOLMES! Oh yeah! I finally was able to watch Sherlock Holmes 2 - A Game of Shadows with my bff Naomi. We watched it last Friday after work. She was my movie partner when Sherlock Holmes 1 came out. Super Kilig!!!  Haha.. I have a huge crush on Robert Downey Jr. and Naomi has a huge crush on Jude Law. Hahaha so magkasundo kami - walang away! Oh diba.. Eye Candy!

Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr
Photo Credit - Here

And yes, Sherlock Holmes 2 is definitely worth watching! I swear, this movie is one of the rare movies where the 2nd Movie is even sooooo much better than the first. Promise! It has more action, more funny moments, and more mind boggling Sherlock Holmes' eccentricities and awesome powers of observation which I absolutely adore. I don't watch movies often (coz honestly I really can't stomach the movie prices nowadays..) but this movie was absolutely worth every cent. There were times where me and Naomi were laughing so hard and then to only find out later that we were the only ones laughing.. haha. I think maybe its coz there were only a number of people in the cinema (less than 50).

Photo Credit - Here
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson
In this particular scene, I find Jude Law as Watson super duper hot!
This particular evening attire looks really smart and handsome on him.
Particularly the scenes when he was playing cards!
Agree?

Three things you should watch out for in the movie are the Sherlock Holmes epic disguises, Sherlock Holmes' brother, and the wedding of Dr.Watson. Anyway I don't want to spoil the movie too much. Its so much better if you watch it instead. Naomi has already completed the whole Sherlock Holmes series in print and she explained to me that several of the scenes in the movie were taken from various books (much like Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief!). So it might be confusing for those who have read it already. I think they did it like that so that the movie would be more interesting and more action packed then ever. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to watching part 3 of this movie (hopefully there will be a part 3).

So Coffeeholics, if you haven't been able to watch Sherlock Holmes yet, I strongly suggest you do! Its one of the must watch movies for January! Let me know what you think!

Mwah mwah, 

Food Diary - Yummy YABU The House of Katsu

YABU - The House of Katsu
can be found at
2nd Floor ATRIUM SM MEGA MALL

Hey Coffeeholics! Who loves Japanese food? Raise your hand... and hail that taxi cab or jump on the MRT to go to YABU The House of Katsu at the 2nd Floor Atrium of SM Mega Mall! I've heard about Yabu but really had no idea what to expect. Of course, upon arriving in front of the restaurant you will definitely feel that you will have an awesome Katsu experience. Just looking at their posters makes your mouth water! After all, Yabu claims to be the first and only aunthentic Japanese katsu restaurant in the Philippines.

Yabu - The House of Katsu
Love the interior look of the place!

MANGA on the walls! How cool is that!
I  also really really like the comfy chairs and sofa.
Photo credit - YabuPh Facebook

[Sorry if the photos are blurred. I was only using my cell phone camera. I totally forgot to bring my cam!] 

And of course, the star of the show -- the Chicken Katsu (at 90 grams) set!
In the menu, Chicken Katsu is offered in three different servings - 90 grams, 120 grams, and (I forgot haha.. 200 plus ba yun?)
For the set that I got, it has a bowl of rice, 90 grams of crispy yet delectable and delicious Chicken Katsu, Miso Soup, a few slices of fruit, and unlimited cabbage salad.

90 grams of Chicken Katsu
and the white stuff is the Cabbage Salad!

Yummy Rice which I finished.
I really shouldn't have but the food was sooooo good I couldn't stop!

The special katsu sauce which I absolutely LOVED!
They even had special instructions on how to make the special blend of the sauce.

Some of these are the "ingredients" that you just had to mix it all up in a bowl with Sesame seeds 
This is where I dipped my Katsu by the way. SUPER YUMMY!

Me and Jordy (imishu) just about to eat!
We ordered the same thing. Hehe. 

Such a pity that I wasn't able to have a photo with Rache, Tin, Jen and the rest of the group that I was with at Yabu that night. I'm so glad that as the last barkada "food trip" for 2011, we ended up here at Yabu. Unforgettable talaga! The food was superb, the ambiance was just simply amazing, and the service was impeccable. As for the price, well to be honest it was a bit more than my usual fare. But I promise its all worth it! So if you haven't had your Yabu experience yet, I will definitely recommend that you do the next time that you are at  SM Megamall.

Happy Eating!  Mwah mwah,