Trinoma Baller ID

 
My joy was short-lived, however. They already have their 150 bloggers, so no more slot for me. Two days before the event, Kaoko send me a flickr mail: would I like to take her place, since she won’t be able to attend? And so last Wednesday, I joined a hundred other bloggers at Trinoma, all looking forward to the gastronomic delights that await us.

Crazy Pepper Steak’s…Pepper steak.

 
I would like to say that they didn’t disappoint, but I can’t. Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful they they organized this whole affair, and the good we were able to sample were really fantastic. However, as with most pilot events, there were still details they have to iron out like logistics and communication with the participating restaurants. We were broken into groups and went on to different levels as not to clog the restaurants. After a briefing with our guide, we headed down to the lobby level. To our surprise, another group was inside Bread Talk and Toast box. Our guide said we’ll head on to Conti’s while the other group are still in the other shops. We were welcomed inside Conti’s with blank stares; the store manager wasn’t in and the crew have no idea about the food tour.

Puto Bumbong from Mangan

 
Going up the next level, we went inside to try Crazy Pepper Steak, where we were welcomed warmly. We had to wait a couple of minutes before they served the meals they wanted us to try. Our guide also took this time to alert the other restaurants in the vicinity that the mob is coming. So when we went out, the other restaurants were all set and waiting.

Mann Hann’s Tofu with veggies and century egg

 
That was pretty much the theme of that tour (in our group anyway): some restaurants are ready and waiting, while some say that they aren’t participating, despite being marked as CONFIRMED in the list our guide handed out. And then there was that incident at Cabalen… but I’ll let AJ tell you the story.

Terriyaki Boy’s Tofu Steak

 
All in all, it was an afternoon well-spent. Some of the restaurants were already favorites, but it’s great to discover new dishes that I’ve never thought to try. The rest were places I haven’t tried before, and will definitely be going back to. Also, it was great to see blogger friends I haven’t seen since last October, and to make new ones (Hi Noreen, Edward, Jules and Jean!. To the Trinoma and Yehey team, thanks you so much!

Here are a couple more pictures from the food tour:

Cyma’s Lamb Leg Roast

Frying Fish? No, it’s Abe’s fried tilapia