I love free food! Who doesn’t? I have been waiting for the McCormick Flavor Nation for this year as I learned about this event after it happened last year. You see, I have been a McCormick user for a long time.
The brand McCormick became known to me because of their tea bags. Anyone remembers the green box and the individual plastic container for each tea bag with the word “McCormick” printed? Yeah, that’s the one. Then, I learned about their curry powder. And as the years go by, I started to learn more about herbs and spices as I find my way into the kitchen to explore the art of cooking. I also use McCormick food coloring and vanilla extract in my baking. So there, I can safely say that I am indeed a fan of McCormick.
Imagine my excitement when I saw the Facebook invite going around for the McCormick Flavor Nation. I quickly signed up and made sure that I didn’t have plans set for that day. I signed up for two attendees. But then, Z’s nanny had different plans for that weekend so it was just me and the little boy. 🙂
The event was scheduled to start at 11AM and Z and I were there by half past 11AM. I was that excited. LOL! Z and I were able to go around the area but since it was too hot and Z was starting to complain, we just bought a few items from the Shopping Avenue before going to the nearby restaurant for lunch. Z took his time eating his lunch which was fine with me. At least we had time to cool down.
After eating, we were ready to go back. There were 4 chefs that shared their creations. Given that I had two stubs, I was able to get two of everything! I only got to taste 3 out of the 4 though. I didn’t get the kare-kare since it had bagoong and I am allergic.
Here are the 4 dishes served during the event:
Cajun Shrimp and Corn
I didn’t know what I got until I saw the sign board. I had two servings of it and didn’t really know how to eat it all since I am allergic to shrimp. Z just ate and he didn’t want another bite of food. I tasted it, though. I ate about half of one shrimp. It tasted good but I didn’t really get to enjoy it as I was worried more about getting allergic reactions than the food itself.
Yellow Curry Rice with Fried Chicken and Coconut Gravy Sauce
Next on the list was the yellow curry rice with fried chicken and coconut gravy sauce. I had to wait for a few minutes before I was able to taste this since they ran out of containers. Someone had to run to get containers for them. The wait was okay for me since I was the first in line and I would say that the food was worth the wait. I really enjoyed this dish. I just had curry rice for breakfast that day but the way they cooked their curry rice was more delicious than I did. And I like curry.
I need to look for the recipe of the coconut gravy sauce though. I couldn’t get enough of this one. Anyone able to get the steps how this was made?
Chicken Kare Kare Kushiyaki with Green Mango and Bagoong
Okay, this one I didn’t attempt to eat. I just requested to have my cards stamped and took a photo of the dish because I am allergic to bagoong. It looked so pretty, though.
Sloppy Joe Bao
I loved this one. Instead of using regular buns or baguettes, I think this is mantou or steamed buns. It was really soft and so yummy.
My favorites would have to be the curry rice and the sloppy joe bao. I really enjoyed these two samplers.
They also set up an area for kids to play. Z found it as we were in line for one of the dishes. The crew over there were kind enough to look after Z for a few minutes as I waited for the food and while I took photos.
I got to bring home 2 loot bags with great freebies, too! Who doesn’t love freebies, right?
Anyway, here’s what I bought from the Shopping Avenue:
I actually didn’t plan on spending anything on this event but given that they were on discounted price, I just had to get a few. I spent Php150.00 for all 4 of these. Good deal, eh? I would have wanted to get more but they didn’t have the herbs and some of the other McCormick items that I was looking for.
I’d say, it was a day well spent for this sleepless momma. The little boy was happy and so was I. 🙂 Well, til the next McCormick Flavor Nation event!
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Note: This is not a sponsored post.Â
