I love cooking competitions. I always get hungry and I never seem to get enough of seeing the work, the passion, the creativity and the twists of the formula. When I was invited to be a food judge for 2015's Foodgasm goes to Maginhawa, you could say I was honoured to say the least.

So without further ado this is the first fifteen dishes at the event! (Some of the competitors failed to come on the day and were omitted.) Here is the link for Part 2 of 2!

1. Double Bagnet

The Double Bagnet was an interesting entry because essentially it was two well loved ways to cook pork, sisig and bagnet, combined into one. It didn't take a lot of creativity, but sometimes going the simpler route is the best one!

2. Pork and Tofu Sisig

I wanted to love this dish because I love sisig, but because it was soggy and could use better seasoning. A little more and they could have perfected it.

3. Bonnga Hangovurger

Longganisa burger patty with cheese omelette sandwiched by waffles that were topped by maple syrup! It was okay. I just wish the waffles were crunchier! The cheese omelette was an interesting choice, but I would loved it more if they used Bacon strips.

4. Iberian Chicken

It was raining the day of the event and the dishes that were affected most were made from chicken and fish. Even though the meat hardened because of the cold, you could still taste the spices and the flavors from this dish! It's one of those 'Sayang!' dishes. I hope next time to get this fresh!

5. ROAR Blue Raspberry and Fruit Punch 

These are similar to the Pocari sweat products but they taste a lot better. I particularly like the Raspberry than the Fruit Punch. I wish that it was more innovative though, it was imported.

6. Cheesecake in a Jar

They are okay. I don't find anything remarkable about their version of this classic dessert, although it is nice to have this on the go. I've had better in terms of flavor, consistency and texture.

7. Buffalo Wings

They offered two flavors: the sweet and the hot and spicy. Sadly the way they cooked it left it soggy which lost its crispiness.  This is just me, but I prefer my Wings fried at a constant temperature to give that wonderful texture and crunch! The hot and spicy flavor was the type of spiciness that numbs yours tastebuds. So Prepare yourself. The classic sweet sauce wasn't that sweet.

8. Chicken Topokki

The flavor that stood out was the red sauce where it was not quite as authentic as the one I've had in Korea but it was close enough. What I was looking for was the chicken flavor. I couldn't taste it anywhere.

9. Brown Brazo

What is interesting in this iteration of the classic Brazo is the use of Coconut sugar which is said to be healthier than sugar cane. Props for them to try and give us a healthier option. The Brazo itself was a decent make. You won't go wrong with this.

10. Cucumber Lemonade

Cucumber-infused water is gaining popularity, and it was just a matter of time till someone combined it with Lemonade. I am glad someone actually did it. The cucumber adds an interesting contrast to the sweetness of the sugars and sourness of the lemon that brings out each other flavors that is surprisingly refreshing! I love it.

11. Yakitori

Chicken Barbecue is something I hold dear to my heart, and I think it is a common sentiment. Yakitori is basically chicken barbecue on a stick and this iteration of the dish is okay. The chicken is okay but the all the flavors are being overpowered by the seaweed. The sauce needs to be able balance this.

12. Decorative Cakes

I got really excited when I saw these! There was a spaghetti and meatballs cake and a Lechon cake. The attention to detail, the passion and the hardwork on these are what I respect from Empire Cakes. I was just set back by the chiffon inside. It was a little dry and rough for my preference but it did taste chocolatey. The dish isn't bad, it was almost great!

13. Champorado Cupcake

This was an interesting idea but the execution could be refined. I found the rise to be only gripe in it. Probably due to the baking process, the rice hardened. Otherwise, the champorado flavor was good and the cake itself was soft and moist.

14. Yema Cupcake with Pastillas de Leche

Like the last one, it has promising idea but could be refined even further for it to be great. The Yema and pastillas recipes were the problem where they came in dry for my taste. I like my yema and pastillas moist. The cupcake itself is soft and moist as well.

15. Porkloin Ribs

This dish is noteworthy because the pig meat had barely any flavor and tasted and smelled like it was a couple of days old. The sauce that they cover the meat in is just sweet with hints of soy sauce and vinegar.

Click the Link Below to see the last fifteen contestants

Next (Part 2 of 2)

I love cooking competitions. I always get hungry and I never seem to get enough of seeing the work, the passion, the creativity and the twists of the formula. When I was invited to be a food judge for 2015's Foodgasm goes to Maginhawa, you could say I was honoured to say the least.

So without further ado this is the last fifteen dishes at the event! (Some of the competitors failed to come on the day and were omitted.) 

If you missed the first part, here is the link for Part 1 of 2!

Next (Part 1 of 2)

16. Meaty Carbonara

This iteration of the carbonara has an increased portion of ham and bacon. If you love meet then this may be the dish for you. I think the dish is okay, and it isn't bad. I would just recommend to use better cheeses.

17. Honey Bagoong Wings

I loved the idea of this dish and the implementation fell a LITTLE Short. You see they used the honey to sweeten the bagoong (shrimp paste) and it did wonders. The shrimp paste's saltiness was tamed. The chicken itself was cooked well. It was crispy and flavorful.  The thing that fell short was that the honey taste disappeared in the Bagoong. Probably if they glazed the wings with honey with would have been perfect!

18. Chocolate Whoopie Pies

They were advertising this as literally cookies and cream. The cookie itself was okay the cream however could have been thicker and creamier. I found it bland as well. If they improve the cream, it would have been noteworthy.

19. Puto Cake

It didn't really taste like a combination of Puto and Cake. It tasted like an ordinary puto with cheese. With that said it was an okay Puto. You wouldn't regret having it but you won't be raving about it.

20. Beef Kebab

They served this dish with the beef strips and yellow rice. The beef was okay. It could have used more spices while the rice could have been cooked better. I felt it was a little lacking in flavor and it was a little under cooked. I encourage them to refine it.

21. Fish Stix

Fish fillet in more manageable stick shape. I like the idea, it made it like fries, that is easy to pick up and quick to eat. It would have been a good finger food. I like the crispy outer shell and the soft inner fish meat. It just lacked a sauce. The owner herself admitted that they had sauce but decided not to bring it. It would have been better if they had.

22. Bacon Banana Bread

They say bacon goes with everything. I have yet to find a dish that proves otherwise. This iteration though was good. I just wish they picked better bacon and cooked it in a better way. The banana and the bacon couldn't bring out the better from each other. I hope they find will find a way to make them jive better. I also applaud the trial of innovation! Keep going!

23. Treasure Burger

They coloured the buns with bright primary colours. It catches your eye but the burger itself was not that good. The patty and the condiments could use better seasoning to bring the flavors out more.

24. Mister Miswa

This is your ordinary miswa based soup. I didn't find anything innovating but if you were craving for it, then this iteration may be the one for you!

25. Choco Chip Cookies

These soft batch cookies were indeed soft but were a little dry inside. The chips used were okay but the cookie bread itself could use some refinement. Keep going, I can see potential in this dish.

26. Choco Chip Banana Cupcakes

I applaud the trial of innovating but the thing is chocolate in itself is sweet while bananas become even sweeter when baked so as you can see the problem was that the dish was sweeter than sweet. It needed another ingredient to balance the sweetness from the sugar, the chocolate and the banana. I am sure you will come up with something else interesting.

27. Churros con Chocolate

The churros themselves were good. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. My only problem was the chocolate. It was apparent that they used less than better cocao which brought the dish down. I hope they find better chocolate.

28. Sili Chocolate Cupcake

One of the innovative dishes that chose to put chili in chocolate. When I took my bite, I was looking for the spiciness. It was a slow acting type of dish where in it takes a while before it kicks in and when it does the spiciness lingers for a while. The only gripe I had with the dish is the cream should be finer and creamier. The texture was still coarse when I had it. Otherwise it would have been a great idea!

29. Bomba

This is my personal favorite. An oatmeal cookie with a chocolate filling that was made from melting chocolate with cayenne pepper that starts off with sweetness from the cookies mixed with the kick of the cayenne pepper that explodes in your mouth. The sweet and the spicy dancing in your mouth for a while will leave you wanting more.

30. Lechon Bagnet

My two favorite ways to cook Pig, Lechon and Bagnet combined into one is simply the best part of my job at Foodgasm! It was crispy and flavorful! It was a crunchfest! Get this now!

Click the Link Below to see the first fifteen contestants

Next (Part 1 of 2)