2012: AN EPIC ODYSSEY OF EPIC EPICNESS

          The year Two Thousand And Twelve, became the most incredible year of my existence. It was the year that my dreams started to come true. 

        Though I have countless reasons to be thankful for reasons for these past twelve months, There are three significant ones that stood out. And because of that, I declared the year 2012, one for the ages..

THE WINNER OF THE CRUMPLER SQUID BAG IS...

Poor girl.. I can imagine her telling her friends "I'm the model for Crumpler's Squid Bag, I swear!"

And they'd all be.."Yeahhh righttt"

         And for my final giveaway.. A Squid Bag from the awesome people at Crumpler Philippines... Congratulations to.........

MERRY CHRISTMAS, FROM THE PICKIEST EATER FAMILY!

Merry Christmas to all.. 

And to all a good night!

From: 

Mr. & Mrs. Pickiest Eater,

 and the Little Picky Eater, Baby Rain!

WENDY'S XMAS GIFT TO THE WORLD: THE BBQNATOR

         I'm fairly simple when looking for a burger. In fact, I've noticed that I seem to always look for the same thing. Give me a nice, meaty patty (Or even two?), BACON (Of course), Onion Rings (Caramelized or fried, as long as its not raw), and BBQ Sauce instead of Ketchup. 

       Which is why I got the eerie feeling that Wendy's created their new BBQNator, with ME specifically in mind. 

QUICK PICK: ALLIES DRY ROASTED WONDER PEANUTS IN MANILA

             A month or so ago, I attended an event together with one of my favorite food bloggers, Franny Wanny. She was kind enough to bring me an early Christmas gift, which was a small plastic jar that said "Allies Wonder Peanuts" on it. I've had peanuts before, so I really didn't think it was actually anything really special. I thanked Franny for her gift, and went my merry way. I got home a bit late that evening from my event, and I was so exhausted, I left the peanuts on the table. 

        The next morning, I had an early meeting, so I left the house before Rina woke up. A little before lunch, I got a text from her saying "Can I open the peanuts on the table?" So I replied, "Sure, but please take pictures of it first". Ten minutes later, Rina sends me another text message "Where did you get this from??". I answer, "Why, is it good?" She answers back, "YES! Ang Sarap!" 

       Seizing the opportunity, I replied, "I got it for you, baby!"

       So thank you, Frannywanny for the extra pogi points.

THE WOLVERINE POSTER!!

         I know this isn't food related, but I Just HAD to post the most awesome movie poster of my all time favorite comic book superhero on my blog!! 

         I really hope this is ten billion times better than the 2009 crapfest that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine! 

        The Wolverine,” starring Hugh Jackman and directed by James Mangold, opens in Philippine cinemas on July 25.

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

HUNGRY FOR SOME HOAGIES!

           When choosing a place to eat at, Rina often needs to make it clear to me that she always NEEDS rice in her lunch and dinner meals. She never hesitates to remind me that, because she knows very well that because of my strong Western influence, I'm perfectly all right with having a sandwich for lunch. However, it's going to have to be a pretty bad ass sandwich. I'm not talking about a slice of ham and cheddar on Gardenia White bread. That's totally fine for an afternoon snack, mind you, but its not filling enough for me to consider it as a meal. 

      I'm talking about a large sub on a baked roll or french baguette, stuffed with different deli meats and cheeses (No veggies please, save for caramelized onions, of course)... Popularly known in the Philadelphia area as a "Hoagie". 

     Where could I find such a magnificent creation without having to travel all the way to the "City of Brotherly Love"? I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say, the restaurant "Hoagies" in SM North Edsa Annex would be a good start. 

THE PICKIEST EATER T-SHIRT WINNERS!!

          I was so happy when I saw the name of the winners of the Pickiest Eater T-Shirts.  Though I've done a series of giveaways in the past year, this was the first time that I was giving something away from ME, and not sponsored by another establishment. 

          Most of the names are familiar, regular commenters on my blog and active on my facebook page and twitter..

          Though I initially wanted to giveaway 5 shirts, since it's Christmas, I decided to giveaway 10!! 

         Did you win? Find out here! 

       

QUICK PICK: BANAPPLE'S MAPLE PECAN & CANDIED BACON HOLIDAY CHEESECAKE!

       

      Another nice thing about being a blogger is being asked by businesses to try some of their products. just the mere thought that these esteemed members of the food industry think my opinion matters is quite overwhelming. Some products I'm more than happy to try, but sometimes I get an offer to try a product that has nothing to do with food or even remotely close to any of my interests so I politely decline. 

     But let me tell you this.. When the owner of Banapple asks if you would like to try their All New Maple Pecan & Candied Bacon Holiday Cheesecake even before it's released in their restaurants, the only acceptable answer is either "YES" (All Caps mandatory) or "HELL YES". 

FRENCH BAKER'S HOKKAIDO CAKE!

         As a lover of all things dessert, I was elated to receive an invitation to witness the launch of French Baker’s Hokkaido Cake, which is part of their new “Cakes of The World” Line. I’ve always had a fondness for French Baker, with their Croissants and Turnovers never failing to catch my attention whenever I pass by one of their stalls. Going to the event, I had no clue what a Hokkaido Cake was, but all I knew was that it was a collaboration between French Baker and Anchor Butter, and that was good enough for me. 

GIVE BACK THIS CHRISTMAS: GOURMET GOODIES GIFT BASKETS

       As I was sorting through the possible gift baskets that I could give some of my friends and clients, I found myself utterly bored. I mean, let's face it.. Putting a red ribbon on a basket full of canned pineapple and fruit cocktail doesn't really say "Christmas", does it?

     Don't get me wrong.. I'm not a "Down with the establishment" kind of guy. I have no problem whatsoever with big businesses. But as I began to frequent food markets this past two years, I noticed something that was lacking in their assembly line of products that graced the grocery shelves.. Something that the small businesses seemed to have in abundance.. 

      Heart. 

      After making the rounds in the Food Market circuit, Chef Dino Ferrari, the winner of AFC's "Next Celebrity Chef", recognized the potential that these products had, made by determined Filipino-based entrepreneurs. 

       However, For Chef Dino and his business partner, championing the local enterprise was not enough. They felt it was imperative to not only promote Filipino small business, but to give to the less fortunate as well in the process.  

      And with that, Gourmet Goodies was born.

LOMBARDI'S: AMERICA'S FIRST PIZZA PLACE

         When looking back at the greatest tragic love stories, the following star crossed lovers come to mind:

1. Romeo & Juliet
2. Heathcliff & Catherine
3. Marc Anthony and Cleopatra
4. Kim Kardashian & The NBA/NFL
5. RichieZ and Pizza

     Yes it's true. I love Pizza, but Pizza and I can never truly be together. All great tragic love stories have obstacles.. Something that tears our couple apart.. Ours is my hyper acidity. 

      You see, Tomato is my number one enemy. Anything tomato based wrecks my digestive system. Making stuff like Pasta, Tacos, and yes, even pizza, quite tricky for me to eat. 

     All those worries got thrown out the window the moment I found out that we would be going to Lombardi's in New York. Why? Well, it's not everyday one gets a chance to visit the first pizza parlor in America.

THE PICKIEST EATER CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY #2: URBANEARS TANTO HEADPHONES

         Though I know ya'll love the restaurant GC Giveaways, I had an opportunity to give out something different to my beloved readers, so I took it! As a token of my appreciation to you all for the unbelievable support you've given me in 2012, I'm giving out this awesome Urbanears Tanto Headphones set to one of you from Christmas!

THE PICKIEST EATER IN THE WORLD'S 
CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY #3 HAS BEGUN! 

WHERE IS UMAMI HAMBAAGU HOUSE?

            For the past couple of weeks, food lovers around the web has on the lookout for the mythical Umami Hambaagu House.. A restaurant that specializes in Japanese Burger Steaks, but takes it to the next level, and then you multiply that next level to infinity. Something that added to the mystique of the restaurant, is that the location of Umami Hambaagu House has been kept from the public. 

        In a world where restaurant owners are screaming at the top of their lungs "VISIT US AT OUR LOCATION, LOCATED AT BLAH BLAH BLAH STREET, ETC", Umami decided to play it a different way. They said to hell with tradition and issued a challenge to its customers. They basically said, "We are awesome. If you want some kick ass burger steaks, come and find us."

     The result? A whole bunch of food lovers typing into Google..

                       "Where is Umami Hambaagu House?"

BURGASM AT BURGERBAR IN GREENBELT!

         I'm not going to lie to ya... Being a food blogger is pretty awesome. For the first year of the existence of my blog, I would never accept any invitation from restaurant owners to dine at their establishment, simply because I was worried I would be pressured into giving a good review for a place I didn't like, putting any credibility I may have in jeopardy. 

      Things changed after Rina gave birth to Rain. After all the hospital expenses had been paid, It was clear that the shelling out of money that comes with having a child had only just begun. I came to a realization that one way to be able to sustain my blog and the financial demands of a new born baby, was to finally accept those invitations. So my New Year's Resolution as a blogger for 2012, was to begin attending blogger events and restaurant invitations. After the first couple of visits, I realized that my fears of being pressured turned out to be unfounded. For the record, every restaurant that has invited me have been extremely gracious with my comments, both positive and negative.  

          So through the course of the year, I've been incredibly blessed to have been able to sample the menu of some amazing restaurants. I probably would have gone to them on my own volition, but I undoubtedly would not have been able to taste the same number of dishes.

         A couple of weeks ago, I got a very fascinating invitation. I'm grateful for every invitation that I get, but this particular one was rather different. This was a chance for me to dine at a restaurant and sample their dishes, BEFORE they opened their doors to the paying public.  

        And I don't want to sound arrogant or anything like that, but I think I was the right guy for the job. Why? 

        Because the name of the restaurant is "BurgerBar".