Rochelle Rivera: Food Events

Food Crawl: Where and What to eat in SM Megamall and SM Aura Premier #AweSMFeast

Saving the World by Eating Pulses

Spent the last two days in Bangkok, Thailand 🇹🇭 learning and trying out “superfoods” aka pulses (such as dry peas, lentils, red beans, and chickpeas). I’m really grateful to be a part of this event because it is in line with my goal this year to live healthy. 💪🏻 I will share my experience on the blog soon www.rochellerivera.com Also, thank you to everyone who joined my giveaway. 🎁I’ll announce the winners once I get back to the PH. 🇵🇭📸 @mjdeleonblogs 👉🏻 with @ruthilicious @iamacesome @aci_girl . @pulsesph .

A post shared by 👩🏻‍💻rochellerivera.com (@rochellemiko) on Jan 26, 2018 at 3:23am PST

WHAT ARE PULSES, THE SUPERFOOD?

When I first heard about pulses, I thought it has something to do with veins, blood and heartbeat- our lifeline, basically. In a sense, they are.

After attending the event in Bangkok, I learned that we actually eat pulses! They are part of the legume family and sometimes coined interchangeably with beans. Dried peas, edible beans, lentils, soybeans, peanuts and chickpeas are the most common pulses.

They are grain legumes that are very high in protein and fiber, and are low in fat, compared to most other plant foods. On top of that, they are environment-friendly because they consume less water, and they help fight obesity and certain diseases. I know that’s a mouthful of info coming to you like thunder. No wonder they are called “superfoods”!

I had an incredible and very informative experience about pulses last January 24-26, 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand. I, together with other media personalities and influencers, learned a lot about its health and environmental benefits through various activities in preparing and incorporating pulses in our meals.

Pulse consumption was first observed to be increasing in the USA in the last couple of years, but Southeast Asia is said to be following this upward trend, starting with Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia. Yes, this is nothing new to us Asians. Although, we lack awareness and perhaps the real appreciation of what good they bring.

We stayed in the amazing Conrad Bangkok for the duration of our 2-day series of exciting activities highlighting pulses. I never thought I could have it anytime of the day!

Lentil Soup Shooter

Sweet Potato and Chickepea Hummus with Salsa Verde Chicken

Black Eyed Bean Cucumber Mint Salad

Panseared Salmon with Green Pea Mash

Lamb Chili Con Carne with Kidney Beans

Nutella Stuffed Poached Pear

with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

As soon as we arrived, we were treated for an orientation dinner at Indulge Asian fusion restaurant, top-rated in Bangkok. It is known for its ever-evolving dishes, high-quality ingredients, truly thirst-quenching drinks, and very accommodating staff. Their dishes have been carefully created to cater to all tastes - from conventional, much-loved dishes, to new flavor combinations. It’s super satisfying to try their exquisite pulse-based specials. What a welcome!

To cap our day, we had our Happy Hour Refreshment Pairing bustle at CRAFT.

Our pulse snacks and drinks were interestingly perfect combination. It was a night full of chit chat, fun and pulses, of course!

As much as I wanted to stay up late to bond some more with the other guests and my blogger friends, I had to get some rest for our second day. I’ve been actually looking forward to our Pulses Cooking Class as soon as I saw our itinerary because I wanted to acquire techniques and expand my knowledge on how to prepare different dishes with pulses.

I’d love to share my key learnings from the one and only Chef Norbert Ehrbar who has been cooking since he was 16. His passion is highly commendable, and his years of experience in the food industry working in various restaurants are definitely an inspiration.

Team Philippines with Chef Norbert Ehrbar
rochellerivera.com, lifestylehub.net, ruthdelacruz.com, iamacesome.com, acigirl.com

With Dee Richmond, PhD, Senior Project Manager of Agrisource

Dee Richmond, PhD, Senior Project Manager of Agrisource

We spent most of our day at the UFM Cooking School in Phrom Phong. We were introduced to pulses and the different tips on preparing them.

Pulses can be incorporated to every meal - from soups to deserts, snacks to main courses, and even smoothies! Meat, veggies, and fruits surprisingly go very well with different kinds of pulses. Just imagine how nutritious every dish can be. 😊

Rice Noodle Bowl

Chickenpea and Mussel Asian Soup

Korean Style US Bean Stew

US Navy Bean Smoothie

Aside from the demos, we were immersed in hands-on cooking and some more engaging discussions.

Cooked Chinese Style U.S Pulses and Chicken Soup with different kinds of pulses

I really enjoyed cooking with bloggers from Thailand. The best part of this day was our super delicious and flavorful lunch! Haha! I must get some serious exercise after this trip.

Catered Lunch by Radisson

Bloggers from the Philippines with Aaron Henry and Robert Woodrich of Paper & Page

Our last night in Bangkok was bitter-sweet, I didn’t realize we’re about to go back home already. The program was absolutely packed with information, which is its main objective. Goal unlocked!

Four kinds of Hot and Cold Hor D'oeuvres

Barbecued Peking Duck

Stewed Fish Maw

black mushroom in oyster sauce

Sauteed Scallops

X.O. chili sauce and black beans

Duet of Vegetables

topped with conpoy sauce and pinto beans

Deep Fried Bamboo Fish

soy sauce

Fried Rice

seafood and lentils

Ginkgo Nuts

hot syrup and red beans

The 4-course dinner prepared by Liu at Conrad Bangkok was more relaxed and one of a kind. The Liu menu takes most of its influence from Cantonese cuisine, leveraging the great knowledge and influence Chef Jacky brings from different part of China as well as Thailand. There’s no better way to wrap up this whole experience.

Truly, what I have learned about pulses are eye-opening. Sometimes we think too much of our diet, and sacrifice taste over the nutrients we can get out of the food we eat. Delicious does not mean unhealthy, and we can stop being guilty with our intake of the best-tasting dishes. There are a lot of options to go green and be healthy at the same time. Pulses is one superfood you must add to your daily consumption.

Hope to share a recipe with you soon! Comment a pulse-meal we can all try.

You can find more information about PULSES at: https://www.facebook.com/ThailandPulses/ and
https://www.facebook.com/PulseAssociationPhilippines/

Food Crawl: Where and What to eat in SM Megamall and SM Aura Premier #AweSMFeast

Saving the World by Eating Pulses

Search This Blog

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel

Contact Me

LIKE MY PAGE ON FACEBOOK

ARCHIVES ♥

SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG ♥