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Every year we look forward to trying new food finds in Our Awesome Planet’s Ultimate Taste Test event. We fully support this event because we also find that we are on the same mission to support small shop and home food entrepreneurs.

A lot of the best food finds started out from the Ultimate Taste Test like Carmen’s Best Ice Cream, Pepita’s Lechon, Risa Chocolates and the Bhest Lasagne rated as #1 Manila’s Best Lasagne.

This year’s 2021 Ultimate Taste Test event was held at the Gallery Miranila, a charming Heritage Home and Library which also accommodates events and weddings along Mariposa, Quezon City. Here are our two favorites:

Butter Bros’ Bomb Pie

A New York inspired pastry, this custard filled buttery oat crusted pie is dense and definitely a treat paired with your favorite black coffee for breakfast or afternoon snack. A creation by a former PAL airline pilot, who now turned into a home baker making sweet delights he tried during his many international travels. Throw in the bomb of confectioners’ sugar and crack into this one of a kind pie.

Get it here: https://bit.ly/3qkOEZJ

Kabute’s Mushroom Sisig

Our tasting team loved the Mushroom Sisig by Kabute and we found out it made it to win this year’s Ultimate Taste Test Champion! Truly local, and even healthy, you won’t believe it’s not the usual pork sisig. Made of oyster mushrooms, native onions and chili spices, this Mushroom Sisig is best paired with rice and your favorite sisig condiments like a fresh egg, calamansi and toyo. Kabute Farm is from the famed mountains of Banahaw and their ready sisig packs are convenient to prepare. Make mushroom sisig pizza, pasta, lumpia and even as a salad topping.

Get it here: https://bit.ly/3yM9uoE

The Noche Buena and New Year Table should be filled with delicious and easy to prepare eats.

Here’s an insider review of our top finds from our digital shopping food site:

• Canuti Tortellini Al Funghi Porcini and the Dega Salsa Tartuffata - Make beautiful cream sauce with our instant mushroom and truffle paste. Bring the tortellinis to a boil and mix both together in a sautee pan like an Italian chef. Top with Parmesan cheese. This is a notch above your usual spaghetti sauce pasta dish.

• Aguila and Purefoods Christmas Hams - Our top 2 fave Christmas Hams perfect for gifting and setting up on the main dining table. Glaze with Beechworth Honey, Bonne Maman Raspberry Jam, Bizu Ciabatta Bread, and Burratta Cheese. This deadly combination is a sure winner.

• Steaks Steaks! Our collection of Australian Black Onyx Pure Black Angus Steaks, USDA Steaks, Chingolo Argentinian Steaks, Infinite Pure Wagyu Striploins are excellent choices and would save you a lot cooking it at home. Just add salt, pepper and sear.

• The best Tamales from Pampanga is a classic to enjoy after Simbang Gabi. Just steam and enjoy this delicacy brought to Manila by FrozenMNL.

• The Bibingka Ice Cream Cake and Puto Bumbong Ice Cream by Sebastian’s. This local artisanal ice cream chef named Ian Carandang whips up the most exquisite Filipino flavors with no shortcuts and only the best ingredients. The rich ice cream blend says it all. Try it!

• Nanay Luisa’s Queso de Bola Spread and Bizu’s Focaccia Breads are made for midnight feasts. I could finish a whole bottle on my own because I have a particular love for pimiento and cheese.

• Bundaberg Ginger Beer and all its bubbly flavors is a toast to anything sparkly and non-alcoholic. Your party will be merrier with the whole Bundaberg collection in your bar.

• Dulcelin Mango Torte is one of my childhood favorite desserts and I have been so delighted to have them on this site. A crunchy base, fresh frozen sweet mangoes and cream. What more can you ask for?

Our top Noche Buena Items await you at FROZENMNL.COM. Enjoy shopping great food discoveries online. We also deliver for FREE through the holidays until December 31, 2021.

Get it here: https://bit.ly/3H7i4B5

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Ever wondered about the difference between ordering a Striploin Steak and a Rib eye Steak?

When it comes to Wagyu Beef, the Striploin for me is the way to go. It has the right balance of fat marbling to meat ratio giving both a tender and even finish. Wagyu Rib-eye steaks are buttery and have more fat marbling. I just like mine more meaty with a nice bite when it comes to Wagyu steaks. When it comes to pure Black Angus steaks, I still prefer the Rib-eye cut.

Recently, I have been raving about Rangers Valley – one of the world’s most respected premium marbled beef producers of Black Angus and Wagyu from Australia. I have been so used to cooking US steaks, and I decided to give Australian meats a shot.

The steaks from Rangers Valley definitely tops my premium steak list. The Black Onyx Rib Eye is very tender and flavorful and is equivalent to prime grade Rib eye steaks. It has a marble score of 3+ and is raised and grain fed for 270 days. It is possibly one of the best I have ever tasted.

Australian Pure Bred Infinite Wagyu Striploin is my winning choice for my Christmas table. Definitely one third the price of Purebred Japanese Miyazaki A5 Wagyu beef in the market, this Wagyu steak definitely has that melt in your mouth flavor, amazing balance of texture and the umami taste you are looking for. Slowly fed for 360+ days, this is the gold standard for me.

A great range of Rangers Valley steaks- Black Market with a marble score of 5+ Black Angus, Black Onyx with purebred Black Angus cattle, WX Crossbreed Wagyu and Black Angus for a meatier Wagyu flavor, and Infinite Pure bred Wagyu steaks are all available at FROZENMNL.COM and are delivered to you for free until the New Year.

Get it here: https://bit.ly/3sk4QNv

Call me ignorant, but I have never tasted Balbacua my entire life until now.

And I am glad that I tasted this one in particular. When Carmina del Rosario, the chef and entrepreneur behind Mindanao Butcher’s brought her Balbacoa hand carried all the way from Davao directly to my Manila door, I was the happiest person. I devoured the entire pack good for 2-3 persons. No one was allowed to touch it as I happily ate it with patis, kalamansi, sili and a steaming cup of rice.

The Balbacua is a popular dish in the South of the Philippines, but its roots really come all the way from Spain. It really comes from the word “barbacoa”, which means meats cooked and simmered for a very long time in an open fire. Even Mexico has a dish called “Barbacua”.

Get it here: https://bit.ly/3edIQLL

Mindanao Butcher’s Balbacua was served in Madrid Fusion Manila. This rich stew is made from imported oxtails and tender Angus cuts of beef that is braised for six hours in ginger, ground peanuts, red peppers, and an assortment of local aromatics from Mindanao. The oxtails made the stew gelatinous, and the flavors were bursting and intense. I wanted more.

These special Balbacua frozen packs are airflown weekly to Manila and delivered straight to you by FROZENMNL.COM—bringing you the joys of shopping food discoveries online.