My “diet” just flew out the window 
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*SIGH*
I guess it was to be expected as the H, the Little Miss and I made our rounds of the Best Food Forward food fair last Saturday.
Being a BFF virgin, I was excited to see and sample the various offerings of the participating food purveyors.
Was it worth sacrifice? A big resounding YES!!!
Here are my top picks (in no particular order). Please note, I wasn’t able to sample all the vendors below so my picks are not solely based on taste. They’re also based on the uniqueness of the product and on interesting packaging 
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1. Casa San Luis
Although they are more known for their pastries, I decided to sample their Sweet Dips. According to the lady attending their stall, the Salted Caramel with French Sea Salt and their Caramel Bacon Bits are their best sellers. Since I’m not particularly a fan of Salted Caramel and a HUGE fan of bacon, it was a no-brainer that I allocate my precious calorie count to the Caramel Bacon Bits dip.
Rich, decadent, yummy and sinful were words that came to mind when I tried it. I could actually feel my waistline expanding–haha! The nice thing about these spreads is that they are also very versatile and can be used either as a dip, sauce, or topping! I can imagine that they would be great poured on top of ice cream, or something to eat with crackers or to spread on bread!
Both flavors come in 4oz and 10oz jars that are priced at Php150 and Php300 respectively.
For orders, you can call Casa San Luis at 0916 644 8522 or email them at casasanluispastries@gmail.com
2. Double Delights
This next vendor caught my attention because of its cute, detailed designs. At first, I thought I was looking at a bunch of mini cupcakes, but they’re actually polvoron cupcakes! Innovative, right? I love how they gave a different twist to this well-loved Filipino milk candy, and made it more “now”. Since cupcakes are all the rage nowadays, why not a polvoron cupcake? And not just any ordinary polvoron cupcake, apparently, because aside from the polvoron layer, it is also topped with white chocolate and royal icing. Can you say “yum”?
To order, call 2963702/0932 8881350/0919 4286320 or email at anne@double-delights.com. Their website is http://www.doubledelights.com.
3. Casa Angeline
By the time I got to this booth, my stomach was already losing pretty much all of its valuable real estate space . And it was really too bad because I love flan and I was so looking forward to trying Casa Angeline’s Flan Pots. Again, I thought it was interesting and different to package the custard in a mason-like jar, versus a ramekin or a serving dish, as it is usually presented at home or in restaurants. It kinda makes the leche flan look more special and sosy. Hahaha!
The Flan Pots come in four different flavors: Leche Flan, Mango, Strawberry and Coffee Caramel. It costs about Php225 for 3 pots. Not bad, right?
And aside from the flan, Casa Angeline is also knows for their french macarons, cream puffs and sticky toffee pudding. Talk about a quadruple threat!
To know more about Casa Angeline, visit their website at http://www.casaangeline.com. You can also follow them on FaceBook!
4. [unit16sweets]
Aside from the fact that I LOOOOOOOOVE chocolate, I could not help but be drawn to this booth because of the cute and quirky designs of the chocolate labels. Then I realized they were personalized chocolate labels! Kewl!
Mental Note: Great Gift Idea!!!!
The chocolates used are guaranteed to be of the finest quality, and comes in a variety of flavors–milk, semi-dark, dark, and mint flavored.
To know more about their pricing and how to order, you can go to their website, http://www.unit16sweets.com, or call them at 8959180.
5. The Noodle Bakes
Almost, but not quite up there next to chocolate in terms of my favorite flavors, is Green Tea or Matcha. I blame it on Kit Kat. Now I am addicted to anything green tea! Hahaha!
When I tried The Noodle Bakes’ Matcha White Chocolate cupcake, wow, it totally made my eyes roll to the back of my head! Hahaha! Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit, but I was honestly really hooked! Like, “I want to buy a whole box and keep it to myself” hooked. Hahaha!
Not only was the cupcake moist, but you could totally taste the matcha flavor. What I especially liked about it is that it wasn’t sickeningly sweet either. It was just right, actually, which is pretty deadly. That means it is perfectly “legal” to have more than just one! Hahaha!
The Noodle Bakes is a home-based seller that can be reached through cell (+63920 920 7268) or via email (thenoodlebakes@gmail.com)
Guess what? They also have speculoos cupcakes on limited availability! That, I cannot wait to try!!!
6. Twisted Desserts
When my good friend M was on her radical sabbatical, she had a sideline business making uber yummy red velvet trifles that she packaged in 3 ways. A small personalized cup, and tubs that were good enough to feed a group of 4 and 8. Ever since she had me sample her product, I’ve been having late night cravings or even dreams about it. Seriously!!!
Sadly, M had to go back to work and her fledgling business had to take a back seat as well .
When I came across these Dig Deep Cups at BFF, it reminded me so much of M’s trifles! Unfortunately, because I was already seriously full at this point, I could only sample a small morsel of the 3K Karrot, which is a cup full of carrot cake, with layers of cream cheese in between, and topped with crushed walnuts. I was pleasantly surprised at how moist the cake was (I’ve encountered a lot of really dry carrot cakes. Boo ), and how the sweetness was just right. I’m sure their Oh-riffic (Oreo) and Choc O’ Nut versions taste really yummy too!
The cool thing about these Dig Deep Cups is how you can handily eat your cake pretty much anywhere, without the mess! Talk about having your cake and eating it too! Hahaha!
For orders, call/text +63906 246 0976 or +63917 620 8749. For a complete list of their products, you can visit their FaceBook page.
7. Cocoa Monster Manila
Pretty packaging always gets me right away. If only more people realized that. You can totally take a basic product (like chocolate) and jazz it up to look like it costs a hundred bucks, all by simply giving it some awesome packaging.
In the case of Cocoa Monster Manila, they definitely made me do a double take, when I saw their edgy red, black and white design. It definitely stood out amongst the other stalls in BFF.
Cocoa Monster offers many different types of chocolate products from tablea to fondue, to cocoa powder and specialty chocolates. They guarantee that their products use 100% pure cocoa.
I wish I had sampled one of their truffles but like I said, I was so full, my stomach could not take anymore . The good thing is, Cocoa Monster can do custom orders for events or corporate giveaways! I may just give them a try!
For orders and inquiries, call 838 8067 to 69 or +63922 873 6638. They also have a FaceBook page!!!
8. Kalookies
I first came across this brand through Patty Laurel’s blog. My first thought, “I love the name!” Hahaha! It’s funny, catchy and memorable . Nowadays, the expression “kalurky!” has become such a part of Filipino lingo and this brand totally capitalized on that. Smart.
But the great thing about this product and its name is that the experience of eating it, totally makes you feel as if you’re going “kalooky” (slang for crazy) because it’s soooo honest to goodnessly good!
I had the Kalassik cookie and the Oreolla during the fair. Both cookies were of the deep dish kind, and just one bite had me craving for more! Next time, I am definitely trying the Paolo Special and the White Toblerone. Haaaaay! At the rate I am going, todo diet na ang kailangan ko with matching barre3 and treadmill! Hahaha!
To order Kalookies, call +63921 302 2241.
So there you have it, my picks at this year’s Best Food Forward. Hope I’ve enticed you to give these vendors a try! Support Filipino made, support Filipino entrepreneurs, support small businesses!
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