With just two days left before Christmas Day, families across the Philippines are busy preparing for the Yuletide celebrations.
Whether you’re getting ready for a festive Noche Buena or planning a hearty Media Noche feast to welcome the New Year, no celebration is complete without a spread of delicious food.
To help you make your holiday feasts even more satisfying, here are some of the best food offerings to consider for this special season.
Bounty Fresh’s chicken options
This year, you can take your holiday feasts to the next level with Bounty Fresh Chicken, raised with No Antibiotics Ever (NAE). This option is said to be a higher-quality option compared to other chicken products, as it eliminates antibiotics and steroids throughout the chickens’ lifecycle, supported by strict biosecurity measures to promote natural health without artificial interventions.
The World Health Organization recommended to “stop using antibiotics routinely to promote growth and prevent disease in healthy animals as it is contributing to the rising threat of antibiotic resistance among humans” in 2017.
The company and its partner farmers prioritize the overall well-being of their chickens, maintaining cleaner facilities, reducing stress, and adopting best-in-class farming methods.
“At Bounty Fresh, we believe that the holidays are a time to celebrate family, love, and togetherness over meals that truly matter,” lawyer Kenneth Cheng, Bounty Fresh Group Holdings Inc. CEO and president, said.
“Our chickens, raised with No Antibiotics Ever, are our
commitment to providing healthier, safer, and more flavorful choices for Filipino families so they can create memorable feasts that reflect the care and quality they deserve this Christmas season,” he added.
The brand also offers the following options:
- Whole Chickens – Available in various sizes, for small or big gatherings
- Everyday Whole Chicken and Young and Tender options – For intimate occasions
- Family Feast Chicken – Weighs up to 1.8 kilograms, for larger groups.
- Bounty Fresh’s Premium Chicken – untouched by human
hands, triple-washed and processed in Bounty’s award-winning facilities
Bistronomia’s Spanish-style offerings
The Bistro Group’s Spanish arm Bistronomia’s restaurants Las Flores, Tomatito, Rambla, Rumba and BCN by Las Flores are serving porchetta that deserves a spot on any holiday gathering spread.
The porchetta offering, similar to the Filipino lechon belly but given a twist with Spanish herbs, spices and aromatics, is slow-roasted until crispy on the outside and juicy and succulent in the middle.
It is available for dine-in, take-away and delivery (Bistro
Delivers, FoodPanda and Pickaroo).
Those who wish to party outside their homes, Las Flores, Tomatito, Rambla, Rumba and BCN by Las Flores are offering the following this holiday season:
Unlimited Sangria – Available for P495, all day, everyday. The Spanish drink can be paired with tapas and pintxos.
Beer Fiesta Bucket – Available at P390 and P510
Prime Sets – Patrons can choose from assortment of appetizers and mix with it with the entrée of your choice for only P795.
El Pollo Loco’s party packages
For friends and family who wish to hold gatherings in a restaurant venue, El Pollo Loco is offering new party packages perfect for sharing. These include their famous flame-grilled meats, sides, drinks and desserts.
The packages available are, Grande Party Package (P595), Fiesta Party Package (P695) and Loco Party Package (P795).
The Festivo Party Packages include three (3) hours of free use of the venue, are exclusive of service charge, and cannot be combined with other discounts or promotions (including BFF Card). Customized menus and buffet setups are also available upon request.
If you wish to take the feast to their home, the restaurant is also offering four new platters that can accommodate 3 to 4 people exclusively for take-out. The platter includes El Pollo Loco’s signature flame-grilled chicken and ribs.
The feast options are Ribs & Chicken Feast at P 1885, Flame-Grilled Chicken Feast at P 1395 and Ribs &Frito Feast at P 1495
that comes with One tray of Loco Rice.
Mang Inasal’s ready-to-serve-Fiesta bundles
Grill expert Mang Insal is also offering ready-to-serve Feista bundles to save your hours of cooking for your Christmas parties, Noche Buena, family reunions and year-end events.
The bundles include iconic Filipino favorites like Chicken Inasal, Pork BBQ, and Grilled Liempo, paired with Java Rice, Palabok and Lumpiang Togue.
Whether it’s the Solo Fiesta or Buddy Fiesta for smaller groups or the Family Fiesta for larger celebrations, there’s something for
every occasion. They are also offering Extra Creamy Halo-Halo or Crema de Leche Halo-Halo to make your event sweeter.
Pizza Hut’s Holiday Hamonado Pizza
This holiday season, Pizza Hut unveiled a new flavor to elevate your festive gathering.
Its holiday centerpiece Holiday Hamonado Pizza is made with a delightful fusion of premium ham, sweet pineapple, juicy tomato, crisp green bell peppers, and a rich hamonado sauce, all nestled on a bed of melted mozzarella cheese.
It has Cheesy Cheese & Ham Stuffed Crust, a new addition to its crust lineup. The new offering is stuffed with a delicious blend of ham and cheese, then topped with a perfect layer of cheddar and parmesan.
Holiday Hamonado Pizza is available in both regular and large sizes and can be paired with your choice of crusts, including Mega Crunch, Pan, Stuffed Crust, and Ultimate Cheesy Bites.
The Cheesy Cheese & Ham Stuffed Crust, on the other hand, is available with all Pizza Hut pizza flavors.
The pizza chain also cooked up three sets featuring the new Holiday Hamonado Pizza, the Holiday Hamonado Feast
Combos. The first feast is priced at P899 and comes with 1 Regular Holiday Hamonado Pizza, 1 Regular Spaghetti Bolognese, 4 pieces of Wingstreet Garlic Parmesan and 2 single servings of Pepsi.
Meanwhile, the Holiday Feast For 4 is priced at P1,599 and comes with 1 Large Holiday Hamonado Pizza, 1 Large Spaghetti Bolognese, 8 pieces of Wingstreet Garlic Parmesan and 1 Pepsi Pitcher or 1 1.5 liter Pepsi bottle for take-out.
Lastly, the pizza chain offers Triple Holiday Pizza Feast, which comes with 1 Holiday Hamonado Pizza, 1 Mega Crunch Pepperoni Pizza, and 1 Pan Cheese lovers Pizza, and is priced at P999 for Regular and P1,649 for Large.
Goldilocks’ classic favorites
To sweeten your Christmas celebrations, Goldilocks came up with two new versions of the classic favorite cakes.
The bakeshop chain launched Ultimate Black Forest and Special Black Forest cakes, renditions of the well-loved Black Forest Cakes.
The Ultimate Black Forest has a decadent blend of rich, velvety chocolate cake layered with butter crème icing, silky chocolate ganache and fluffy whipped cream, priced at P899.
Meanwhile, the Special Black Forest was made more special with delectable layers of moist chocolate cake, cherry pie filling and rich chocolate cream covered with smooth whipped cream and crowned with chocolates and glazed cherries. It is priced P679.
Goldilocks also introduced their newest Pancit Canton Overload that features tender egg noodles cooked in a flavorful sauce with pork, liver, carrots, Baguio pechay, and celery. It is available for P590.
These Christmas offerings are available in any Goldilocks store nationwide while their Celebration Trays can be ordered in selected full stores near you. They also allow delivery online through goldilocks.com.ph.
7-Eleven’s City Cafe Signature Hot Chocolate
Christmas in the Philippines also means comfort. If you wish to wind down and enjoy togetherness in this festive season, 7-Eleven offers sweet sips to make the season merry and bright.
This month, it announced te arrival of a Filipino holiday staple, the hot chocolate. The convenience store allows everyone to feel the warmth of Christmas with its City Cafe
Signature Hot Chocolate, with priced starting at P35.
These can be enjoyed in its annual holiday cups. The hot chocolate and other City Cafe and City Prima Drinks are wrapped in the scenes and colors of Christmas available for a limited time.
It also has newly launched holiday classics, 7-Fresh Bibingka and Puto Bumbong.
Omakase, Sunday branch at Nobu Manila
To welcome 2025, Nobu Manila offers vibrant flavors that capture the essence of Chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s new-style Japanese cuisine.
It offers a five-course New Year’s dinner tasting menu exclusively on December 31 and January 1. The set consists of chef’s choice of zensai (appetizer), Nobu Sashimi Sampler (yellowtail with melon puree and caviar, squid salad with Jalapeño dressing, and salmon with yuzu gravy); followed by a seasonal selection of premium assorted sushi. The menu continues with Lobster with cha soba and truffle tosazu butter sauce; Wagyu Beef with foie gras and kuri-kinton (a staple New Year dish in Japan made from candied chestnuts and sweet potatoes). It is concluded with Red Bean Butter Mochi. The tasting menu can be availed for P6,653.57 net per person.
Nobu Manila is also offering a New Year Sunday brunch menu for P4,388 net, on December 29. This features unlimited helpings of popular Nobu-style dishes laid out on the buffet combined with dishes served a la minute: the Nobu Signature Sashimi Trio of Tuna Matsuhisa, Yellowtail Jalapeño and Salmon Karashi Su Miso; Black Cod Butter Lettuce, and a premium array of chef’s selection of sushi cups, nigiri, and maki rolls unique
to Nobu. Among the highlights are the featured carvings of the day – Slow-Smoked Whole Wagyu Brisket and Roasted Whole Turkey.
Other buffet offerings include the whole tuna sashimi station complemented by a chilled seafood bar that features a selection of oysters, blue crabs, shrimps, and green mussels; different choices of kushiyaki (skewers) prepared a la minute; and a dessert station that includes a chocolate fountain.
Media Noche at Haliya
City of Dreams Manila’s modern Filipino restaurant, Haliya also captures the heartwarming flavors of the Filipino media noche with the exclusive ala carte choices available for dinner on December 31 and January 1.
The special New Year menu is comprised of: The Oyster with water spinach, queso de bola, lemon crème, caramelized bacon and leeks, calamansi, roasted capsicums and microgreens; Krema de Castanyas, a soup enriched with ricotta chicken tortellini, guisantes, chestnuts, herb oil, red radish, cherry tomatoes, and microgreens; Beef Mosaic or Haliya’s creative take on Beef Wellington served with cauliflower puree, creamy mashed potato, king mushroom, chicken skin mousse, prosciutto, asparagus, baby carrots, and humba glaze; and Fruit Pavlova, which consists of custard cake, pavlova, persimmon jam, compressed seasonal
fruits and chocolate leaves.
Crystal Dragon’s festive season menu
City of Dreams Manila’s signature restaurant for Cantonese cuisine and regional Chinese specialties is also featuring its five-course season set menu available for lunch and dinner
until Jan. 1, 2025. The Crystal Dragon’s set menu consists of:
Deep-fried Fluffy Abalone with marinated seaweed and micro herbs; Rich Lobster Bisque with poached Hokkaido scallop and crab meat; Wok-fried Wagyu Beef with Chinese yam in black
bean sauce, crispy dough stick and king mushroom; Creamy Braised Green Lobster with shimeji mushroom, and crispy dragon beard vermicelli; and Baked Alaska Flambé. The menu is
can be availed for P6,000++ per person for a minimum order for two persons.
New Year’s Eve Countdown and Festive Menu at The Café
Hyatt Regency Manila’s interactive show-kitchen restaurant brings the season’s flavors through curated holiday buffet spread of local and international cuisine available for lunch and dinner on
December 31. Lunch service offerings include Roast Beef on the carving station; Masala-rubbed Roasted Trevally, which comes with condiment choices including garlic sauce, spicy yogurt, and mint sauce at the Indian corner; Thai-style Whole Fried Chicken; selection of tempura; assortment of meats and vegetables at the live teppanyaki station; and assorted skewers of meat and vegetables from the grill section. This is offered at P2,499 net.
On New Year’s Eve, The Café opens two dinner seatings from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. for P3,199 net, and from 8:30 pm to 11 pm, for 3,999 net. The latter package features entertainment with
alternating performances from Alley Cats Band and a DJ starting at 9:30 p.m. until the countdown to 2025 at midnight, and an extended service from the pastry and dessert buffet station in
addition to the unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages is offered from 11 pm to 1 am.
The first dinner seating include spread highlights such as Steamship, Tuna and Salmon Sashimi, and Roasted Peking Duck. On the other hand, the second dinner seating include
Crispy Pata (pork leg), Porchetta, and seafood choices such as slipper lobsters and curacha, among others.
Completing the lunch and dinner spread are a hefty selection of Italian, Japanese, and Korean favorites, dim sum, roasting and noodle choices at the Asian section; seafood options; various
cold cuts, cheeses, and salads at the cold section; and assorted pastries and desserts.
The lunch and dinner packages are inclusive of free-flowing juices, coffee, tea, local draft beer, red and white house wines.
The second dinner seating also includes cocktails, red sangria, and party favors.
The buffet restaurant can be enjoyed by children ages six to 12 with a 50% discount.
— Rosette Adel