The Blogging Families. Merry Christmas Shot 🙂
It was a great and successful eyeball, Marketman! Finally, we met MM, MMM (Mrs. MM), and the kid. The eyeball ended at 10pm, after 4 hours of chikahan and kamustahan. The time was not enough to meet everybody. I learned a lot during that night and it was a night of pleasant surprises for me. We came for the conversations with the intent to truly build online friends. We also have a lot of questions for Marketman but those would continue to be unanswered specially on the impact of blogging on the family.
Generally, we don’t enjoy buffet food that much because of the mess it creates on your plate and sometimes it is served cold. In short, I wasn’t able to really indulge myself with the food last night aside from making more acquaintances of the bloggers who were there. There were lots of desserts and for us, the winner for the night was Dimpy Camara’s Frozen Brazo de Mercedes. I can’t wait to order an entire cake all to ourselves! This was featured by Wysgal last month in her post, Icebox Brazo de Mercedes but it was Debbie who brought this awesome dessert to the party. Thanks Debbie!!
I was not able to take a lot of photos because I realized some people might not want their identities revealed. I missed a lot of foodie EBs due to travel. There have been three already — Marketman’s First EB, Lori’s Tea Party with parade of desserts, and Lori’s Nestle cooking demo. But for those who were not able to attend, here is a glimpse of what happened during that night.
Thanks to Chris for hosting the eyeball in Gourdo’s!
The EB was in full swing by 7pm. I loved the round lamps above which added to the overall conversational mood during that night.
Bruschetti: (I love these specially the portabella ones)
Portabella mushroom with truffle oil
Eggplant and basil with balsamic vinegar
Asparagus and soft boiled quail egg in brown butter vinaigrette
Stuffed squash blossoms
Pizza (made in their pugon/pizza oven): (I was surprised that they have pugon/ wood fire pizzas served here)
Pizza Neapolitan Pizza
Pizza Margherita
Meat: Pugon Roasted Porkloin with ricotta, thyme and sundried tomatoes
Pasta:
Dried pasta – Penne with italian fennel sausage
Fresh pasta – fettuccine with mushrooms and garlic
Salad: Mixed greens with prosciutto crudo, melons, and lemon mustard vinaigrette
(I wished that it was a sit down event so that we can enjoy the food a little better… I should try out Gourdo’s on one of my food trips)
There was a long line for the food. Not sure what was the total count but almost 80 people have registered and confirmed their attendance. (Marketman- not sure how many was the official count for that EB)
It was a showcase of desserts and the bouquet of roses created by Marketman added to the dessert seduction.
The controversial Budbud Kabog Recipe a la Marketman were given as a souvenir gift. I ate them for breakfast and this is one of the best suman I ever tasted! No need for a sweet sauce, the milky taste is consistent, and the texture of the bud bud is firm at the same time soft like pastillas. According to Marketman, the budbud kabog recipe came from a lady in Cebu who has been making it for 30+ years,
If you don’t know why these suman souvenirs were controversial, check out these related MM posts:
>> Gi Bogbog ko sa Kabog!!!
>> Budbud Kabog Disasters
>> Bud-Bud Kabog and Malagkit / Millet and Glutinous Rice Cakes
Of course the night won’t end without a speech from Marketman himself! He clarified the controversy and finally got the recipe for the budbud. Also, he is pushing through with the shittybank case. More controversies, MM?
I can already see 3 popular foodie bloggers from this photo. Can you guess who they are?
Danny is the person who came all the way from the US, currently on vacation in the Phils. Thanks Danny for the nice chat!!
The night ended with red roses pasalubong to the guests. Of course, there were a lot of desserts left but the best sellers were wiped out. I’m sure Aidan would love this photo of 3 Chinese Girls and a baby when he grows up 🙂
Hi Anton! Thanks for coming to the Eyeball with your family! Final guest count was 70 I think, including Chris of Gourdo’s! I send you a separate email as well. Again, many thanks and what a nice write-up and photos as well!!!
Were you the one that brought the Frozen Brazo? People kept on asking me if I brought it because I had written about it previously in my blog. Anyway the event was good fun, and it was nice to have met you. =)
Nice meeting you last night Anton. The photos look great. I didn’t know the little guy in the chinese outfit was your son Aidan. My staff were all gushing about how cute he was! Thanks, I’m looking forward to welcoming you and your family again at Gourdo’s.
Hi Anton! Been a silent reader of your blog since September. Now I had to break my silence because I am sooo inggit with your foodie and travel experiences. You got me addicted on reading blogs and introduced me to the blogs of Lori, MM and more. But you three are my favorites and I eagerly view your blogs everyday for new activities. Please keep on blogging! Btw, your family pics always look sooo cute especially Aidan 🙂 (very lucky boy!)
Hi Anton! Great photos of the big event. it was so nice to have spent some time chatting with you at the EB. BTW, your site is great and will definitely be checking in regularly to check out your latest find. All the best!
haaayyy… so inggit. anyway, was the food at gourdo’s ok naman? coz we ate there twice and wasn’t really impressed. was there last night window shopping lang at their home store.
Thank you for posting our picture =) I feel like a star! hahaha It was lovely meeting you and your family…I enjoyed our conversation very much. It was a very succeeful EB and I’m glad to have been part of it! Regards to your beautiful wife and adorable baby!
It was cool to have finally met you in the flesh!
Love your blog, Kudos and more power.
btw, your son is adorable!
Hello Anton and company. I enjoyed the crowd and the food!!! I’m very impressed of the venue too. My thanks to all who brought desserts. I’m leaving on the 7th of Dec back to Los Angeles.
It was great to finally meet you, Anton! It was almost like a celebrity sighting to see your whole family in person, after having become so familiar with your faces from this blog. Then again, for avid food blog-readers like me, it’s actually better than a celebrity sighting! 🙂
Hi Anton! It was really NICE to have FINALLY met you, Rache and baby Aidan! Finally!! I was quite surprised you posted our pic with the roses – na-extra pa kami! Naks.. I’m looking forward to bumping into you guys next time! Cheers!!
So what would you recommend from Gourdo’s?