With the non-stop rains and the escalation of COVID cases, we're so glad we discovered Formesa Frozen Foods where we could buy premium Taiwanese frozen foods online.  It also offers in-store shopping and pick-up in Binondo and Makati. 

As they say, the contents of your fridge tells a lot about you.  We have a one-door freezer dedicated just for Asian Frozen Foods and it is usually full!  We're really fortunate to have access to Asian frozen foods because they are usually easy to prepare (i.e. by steaming, pan-fry or boiling) and they are healthy and nutritious too.  

Abalone Salad, Shrimp Pork And Kutsay Frozen Home Made Dumplings, Taro Cake, Taiwan Black Bridge Sausage (Garlic), Grass Jelly and Frozen Baked Pineapple

Allow us to show an example of our easy to prepare lunch, all of which are Taiwanese Frozen Foods bought from FormesaFoods.Com.  

FormesaFoods.Com is easy to navigate and it comes in three languages too: English, Simplified Chinese 简体中文  and Traditional Chinese 繁体中文 .  We love how the site is updated is so you can see how many stocks of the product are available for purchase.  If you see your desired product are already sold out, don't despair because there is also a schedule above on when its new container will arrive.  

A useful function in its website to take note is the messaging icon on the lower right which allow you to anything about the ordering process and also information on how to use or cook the products.

 

So as our friend said, there a indeed a lot of good finds at Formesa Frozen Foods and our shopping cart is proof of that!  Upon checking out from its website, you will receive an email confirmation.

 

Click "View Your Order" and you will see the full delivery details too.

 

On the day of the delivery date, we received a text and viber regarding the booking of delivery.

 

Abalone Salad, Shrimp Pork And Kutsay Frozen Home Made Dumplings, Taro Cake, Taiwan Black Bridge Sausage (Garlic), Grass Jelly and Frozen Baked Pineapple

We were very impressed with the packaging of all the products.  And, they came with a printed list of our orders too.

 

Abalone Salad (310 php/500g)

The Abalone Salad turns out to be Master Yen's Calamari Salad with Abalone Flavor (顏師傅 鮑魚風味沙拉).  Yens is a popular Taiwanese seafood salad brand since 1968.   It was our first time to try it and it was really good!  It had a dominant wasabi flavor and chewy abalone-like texture complimented by the crunchy Capelin roe (a.k.a Masago). 

Grass Jelly (195 php)

The Grass Jelly is YuanLin Shimmering Black Gold since 1900 (員林食品仙草凍).  YuanLin is a Taiwanese maker of purely natural grass jelly since 1900!  It focuses on a specialized product line: Mesona and Grass Jelly from seedling to canning.  As expected, the quality is top-notch.  The Grass Jelly is refreshingly light and jiggly, you can add milk, brown sugar or ice if the sweetness is not enough for you.

 

Shrimp Pork And Kutsay Frozen Home Made Dumplings (350 php/24-pc. pack)

 

Taiwan Black Bridge Sausage (Garlic) (1,280 php/600g)

The highlight of our orders is the Taiwan Black Bridge Sausage (Garlic).  We've actually been looking for this and we're surprised to find it at Formesa Frozen Foods.  Black Bridge Sausage 黑橋牌香腸 is like the King brand of Taiwanese Sausage.  It even has its own Museum in Taiwan.  Black Bridge Sausage now has over 26 product varieties but its best seller is still its 50-year old Original Sausage.  Since we've tried that before and Formesa has several varieties available, we decided to try the Taiwan Black Bridge Sausage (Garlic) which was a good choice because we usually eat Taiwanese Sausage with leeks and garlic.

 

Taro Cake (250 php/1kg)

 

Frozen Baked Pineapple (265 php/6 pcs)

Just for fun and good luck, we also ordered the Frozen Baked Pineapple (老實旺來冰烤鳳梨).  Earnest Farms (老實農場) is a Taiwanese Brand established in 2000 which aims to make natural, organic and healthy fruit products. We're quite surprised that Formesa's pricing is even cheaper than the official shop price with this item.  The Frozen Baked Pineapple is a new snack that quickly became popular in Taiwan because its delicious and also healthy - made with 100% fresh pineapples without any preservatives. 

Overall, this is our first time to shop online for Taiwanese Frozen Foods.  We'll surely order from Formesa Frozen Foods through FormesaFoods.Com again!  Highly recommended! 

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A pandemic event happens about three times in every century. As they say, there's no rainbow without rain. As we've witnessed the food and beverage industry struggle along with other industries, we are also inspired by strong brands like Cafe Mary Grace that stay consistent with their core values, enduring the test of the pandemic... 

Before walking in, one has to undergo the health protocols installed by Cafe Mary Grace. There's a temperature scanner and QR code for contact tracing.

There are contactless payment options like Gcash made available which made it convenient for many of its customers who simply drop by for their homemade handmade takeouts products.

The Ensaymadas, Cheese Rolls and various cakes are already available as early as mall opening time and ready for take out and deliveries.

The utensils are placed in a paper bag which also doubles as a face mask container.

The seats that prohibit seating are properly laced and blocked by ribbons and each table has a signage that they are already sanitized and ready to be occupied.  We also noticed that they use different type of sanitation sprays.  We're really impressed with their protocol.  The staffs are well-trained and seems accustomed to the protocols already.

 

Food 

 

Perfect Plates

Chorizo Plate (518 php)

Mary Grace Cheesecake (212 php)

For dessert of the day, we were given a choice between Brownie Bars and Mary Grace Cheesecake.  We opted for the latter and it was a satisfactory choice!  The denseness and sweetness is just right to make you want to take another forkful until you've devoured a plateful.

Sandwiches

Vegetables on Focacia Sandwich (314 php)

Vegetables on Focacia Sandwich served with homemade potato chips and garlic dip.  Mary Grace really knows how to please a mushroom lovers heart.  Look at how it was overloaded with shitake mushrooms!  The sweet potato chips had an addictive garlic dip too.  As with all Sandwiches and Flavorful Pastas, there was an add on option for side salad or half-serving from its Hearty Soups menu.  We opted for the Summer Squash (89 php/add-on) this time and it was also so good.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict

No doubt Mary Grace Cafe is a brand that will continue to thrive through the test of times.  Through its food quality, service and safety protocols, you can already see the love, care and respect it has for its customers.  The cozy and clean ambiance along with its cautious and safety protocols is guaranteed to bring your the same and consistent comfort you've always loved at Mary Grace Cafe.  

Tsinoy Foodies Review Rating		Cafe Mary Grace Menu
Ambiance	★★★★★	N/A
Taste	★★★★★
Service	★★★★
Price	★★★
♥=Favorites or Recommended

Cafe Mary Grace SM Manila
Business Address	SM MANILA Upper Ground Floor, SM City Manila, Arroceros St., Cor., Natividad Almeda Lopez St., and San Marcelino St., Brgy. 659 Zone 071, Ermita Manila
Business Hours	10am-8pm
Payment Options	Cash
Service Charge	10%
Budget/Person	500-1,500
Free WiFi	No
Contact	Tel: (63) 2-8244-5300 Mobile: (63) 917-815-3663
Other

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My family enjoys eating fried chicken wings with beer just like the Koreans.  So over the years, we've developed our Tsinoy Foodies Garlic Parmesan Fried Chicken Wings Recipe and Honey Soy Fried Chicken Wings Recipe.

Garlic Parmesan Fried Chicken Wings and Honey Soy Fried Chicken Wings

Since our maternal grandmother suffered from stroke at the young age of 42, which led her to a bed-ridden life for 12 years, my mother has always been very conscious and meticulous of our food intake.  We use canola oil in almost everything we cook.  To date, we're happy to share that despite all our indulgence, our cholesterol is in normal levels. 

So allow us to share our  Garlic Parmesan Fried Chicken Wings Recipe and Honey Soy Fried Chicken Wings Recipe which uses Golden Fiesta Canola Oil which contains phytosterols which may help reduce cholesterol by up to 15% with proper diet and exercise.    Canola oil is made from seeds of Canola flowers so has the lowest level of saturated fats (bad fats) and high in unsaturated fats (good fats) which include Omega 3 & 6.  More importantly, it's cholesterol-free.

Ingredients

Fried Chicken Wings Ingredients

Fried Chicken Wings

• 1.5L Golden Fiesta Canola Oil
• 1 kg chicken wings
• 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
•  Egg wash (4 pcs. egg beaten then mixed with 1/6 cup of water)
  (optional)
•  3 packs UFC Big Crunch (optional)
  

Parmesan Coating

• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup Chopped garlic

Honey Soy Coating

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup Chopped garlic   
• ½ cup soy sauce (120 mL)
• 5  tbsps honey
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Procedure:

Step 1:  Flour the chicken wings (dip in egg wash then coat with UFC Big Crunch for extra crunchiness)

UFC Golden Fiesta Canola oil

Step 2: Heat up the UFC Golden Fiesta Canola oil and prepare to deep fry.

Step 3: Fry for at least 7-9 minutes until golden brown.

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♬ The Chicken Wing Beat - Ricky Desktop

Garlic Parmesan Fried Chicken Wings Recipe

Step 5: Toss the parmesan coating or honey soy mixture in a sauce pan together with the fried chicken wings then mix.

Honey Soy Fried Chicken Wings Recipe

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Given a chance to be warped into another world, you would take it right?  Allow us to invite you to Kurimi クリーミー Milk Tea Bar, a fun, cool and quirky 2D Cafe in Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

 Kurimi is actually an onomatopoeia of the word "creamy".  As we've researched, Kurimi is Filipino-owned and it also tapped young Filipino artists in order to conceptualize its cafes.  It has multiple branches and all have their own distinguishing features.

Kurimi Tomas Morato Facade

While it looks surreal in photos, it is even more surreal when you're actually there.

So, we are quite fortunate that we can easily access this kind of cafe.  Kurimi's food and drink price point is very affordable too.

We can still recall the time when we visited a 3D Illusion Museum, the entrance was pricey and it was quite exhausting to roam about.

The experience with a 2D cafe is totally different.  It grants you the relaxing and dreamy nostalgic feeling of childhood dreams.  You can simply take your time to appreciate the cartoonish 2D art at your own pace.  Whenever you are seated, you are surrounded with 2D illusion objects.  The place is well-utilized (even the restroom!).  You can also play around to be whatever you wish like: 1.) fitting in as a character of a.) a 2D comic, b.) a black and white drawing or c.) an uncolored page of a coloring book or 2.) simply pop out as a colorful special hero or heroine.

Of course, the food and drinks are another way to enjoy the place too.

Drinks

Kurimi has an extensive selection of drinks and toppings so it can cater to a wide-range of preference.

♥ Kurimi Milk Tea Baby Special Oreo-Cheesecake with Pearl (145 php/L), ♥ Strawberry Cream Cheese with Pearl (125 php/L) & ♥ Fruit Tea Special Mango with Nata de Coco (120 php/L)

Signature Milk Tea

The Kurimi Milk Tea Baby Special Oreo-Cheesecake with Pearl is a must-try!  It really lives up to its name.

Cream Cheese Series

Those who prefer fruity and milk drinks will enjoy the Strawberry Cream Cheese with Pearl.  This is a level-up version of the classic strawberry milkshake.  

Fruit Tea Special 

Unlike the two other drinks which were thick and rich, the Fruit Tea Special Mango with Nata de Coco offers a lighter and refreshing experience.   

Food

♥ Kurimi Milk Tea Baby Special Oreo-Cheesecake with Pearl (145 php/L), ♥ Strawberry Cream Cheese with Pearl (125 php/L), ♥ Fruit Tea Special Mango with Nata de Coco (120 php/L), Pork Gyoza (70 php) & Proscuitto E Formaggio (Ham and Cheese) (160 php)

Kurimi is owned by the Milkin Corp., the company behind Fiorgelato and Japanese fast food DM EXPRESS so they offer the same food.

Gyoza (70 php)

We had the Pork Gyoza (70 php) & Proscuitto E Formaggio (Ham and Cheese) (160 php).

Promo Alert

Visit them on Thursdays with your vaccination card and avail a 20% of discount!  Thumbs up for this nice incentive.  With this kind of mentality, we are more confident that we can achieve herd immunity and economic recovery faster.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Guess what's our new profile picture?  Yes, that's our way of convincing you to visit Kurimi クリーミー Milk Tea Bar! You can also order via grab and foodpanda.