It was a weekend of food events and after our cook-off, it was time to taste the specialties of Manila’s best bakers and cooks. Am glad to have been invited to Our Awesome Planet‘s Ultimate Taste Test 3.0, although kinda sad that I missed the first two. The event was simply teeming with culinary discoveries and food finds! Kudos to our blogger-friend Anton Diaz and his wife Rache for organizing the successful taste test which gathers together Manila’s best and upcoming food suppliers, to be rated by a bunch of discriminating foodies. The proceeds of the event will go to the completion of the St. Michael’s Church in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

Tickets were sold for only P150 but we easily had our fill from the food samples of about 30 exhibitors. Am afraid I had to beg off from tasting a few, especially the desserts. Either I didn’t have much of a sweet tooth that day, or it was all simply overwhelming.

This was me holding my stack of paper plates while I was trying to take a picture. One lesson I learned here: never underestimate the bite sizes, for they can add up!

It didn’t help any that the first booth I saw was my favorite Sabroso Lechon. Their lechon sampler was the first one I tasted. There were three lechon booths, but the one from Ulcing’s (Original Lechon Cebu) was the first one to run out. Hmm, I want to try Ulcing’s next time!

Magazine editor Erica Paredes (the daughter of Jim) offered the most innovative dessert: bacon chocolate! I did like it:) You can choose from two varieties: chocolate-covered bacon-bites, or the Piggy Stardust and chocolate lollipops with bacon bits (called Pig Pops). Some people might find a mixture of bacon and chocolates weird, but Erica apparently discovered the treat in New York and now seeks to replicate it here. Happy Bacon (as the brand is called) is a must try and surely will become the most talked-about dessert in town in due time.

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