My good friend Arpee Lazaro, a food blogger, asked me if I was interested in attending a maki making contest. The thing that caught my attention was “maki”, my all-time favorite japanese food, and “contest”. It turns out the event was the “My Maki Masterpiece Challenge” organized by Red Kimono Japanese Restaurants. I asked Arpee if guests could taste the contest entries, and his answer was, “Of course!” Great! That’s more than enough reason for me.
(DLS Note: This post won’t be summary of the event, there would definitely be a lot of those from the other bloggers. I’d just share our experience and photos/videos.)
So I and my wife went to the Central Esplanade of the Fort Strip at the Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. We got there half an hour early. There we met an old officemate, Dante of http://wardonthenet.com/ and bloggers Josephine of http://www.jobonsol.blogspot.com/, Ryan of http://kainpinoy.com/, and Bambi of http://makeupbybambi.blogspot.com/. This is the first time my wife and I had the chance to actually go to an event with bloggers. It was fun. 
Leila, Dante, Ryan, Josephine, and Bambi
Me and Arpee Lazaro
The Contest
The “My Maki Masterpiece Challenge” was part of the 5th year anniversary of Red Kimono Modern Japanese Cuisine. It was hosted by Issa Litton who, in my opinion, did a great job hosting the event. She was entertaining and kept the energy level of the crowd constantly high.
The judges came from varied backgrounds:
- Actress, model, entrepreneur and jewellery designer Tweetie De Leon Gonzales
- Chairman of the Philippine Marketing Association Ricky De Vera
- Philippine Wine Merchants and Ralph Wines and Spirits, and also a popular DJ on 99.5RT Rob Joseph
- Cultural activist and artist/performer Carlos Celdran
- Dean of Enderun College Dr. Edgardo Rodriguez
- Head of ABS-CBN Publishing Ernie Lopez
Four of the judges. Tweety De Leon Gonzales - Rose among the thorns
There were 10 contestants but only 5 winners. The 5 winning maki creations will be added to the Red Kimono menu. The contestants were a varied bunch, from a 12-year old girl to a Belgian(?). Their creation was even more varied, from the traditional makis to the winning dessert maki that tasted like champorado, seriously. One of the my favorites was the one with crab fat (aligi) and tinapa.
The winners with the owner of Red Kimono, Michael Dargani
Check out the Facebook page of Red Kimono for the 10 maki creation finalists: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=196544&id=108620897778 (DLS Note: I was too busy tasting, err, shooting video to take photos of the masterpieces. As Arpee said,”That’s why we have the PR kits.”)
The winning creation was a combined creation of Michelle Pauline Abundo and Irene Fernandez. Their Thai Mango Sticky Maki was sweet and, as I mentioned earlier, tasted like champorado. It reminded me of my childhood days—it was that good.
Winners Michelle Pauline Abundo and Irene Fernandez with the owner of Red Kimono, Michael Dargani
The Photos
Here are the very few photos I was able to take. I’ll upload the video later.
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It was a great evening of good friends and good food. After downing 10 or so makis, I was already full (impossible it may seem). When the contest was over, we were invited to help ourselves to the BUFFET and the OPEN BAR. Now that’s what I call a good way to entertain your guests: stuff them with good food and drown them in good alcohol (softdrinks to wines were flowing). Unfortunately, my wife and I had to be home by 1opm for work, so we had rushed out of the event without tasting the buffet.
If all events are like this, sign me up for the next one.
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Russel CPatalinghog
Russel is a full-time technical writer, a multimedia artist and a photographer. In his spare time, he swims away from imaginary sharks and crocodiles in the community lap pool.