Best food in Manila in 2023: Ultimate Taste Test winners revealed

MANILA, Philippines — Few are given the gift to help launch small, home-based start-ups into full-fledged businesses the way the Ultimate Taste Test (UTT) of Our Awesome Planet has done for the past 15 years.

And so it continues to be the launching platform for some of today’s most promising food entrepreneurs with the staging of UTT 2023 at Gallery MiraNila by The Blue Leaf last November 29.

The exclusive event saw some 250 well-known chefs, culinary experts, food bloggers, media practitioners, and VIP guests coming together, in the name of good food, to taste and rate the innovative products of participating food entrepreneurs. Over a few hours of leisurely tasting and evaluation, the distinguished guests gave their scores on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest.

And 2023's Ultimate Taste Test winners are:

1. Honest Craft Deli (Score: 4.5-Savory) – Best Sausages in Manila

They produce juicy artisanal-quality sausages without extenders, MSG, preservatives, and artificial colorings or flavorings. Judges raved about the steak sausage, in particular, which is pure steak meat in sausage form, as well as the smoked bockwurst, smoked kielbasa, smoked Hungarian, and nürnberger.

2. Tsaa Pinas (Score: 4.17-Drinks) – Best Handcrafted Iced Tea in Manila

Handcrafted iced tea brewed with local premium quality ingredients, it comes in Classic (that goes well with your choice of alcohol), Peach, Lychee, Calamansi, and Raspberry flavors. Not too sweet; no bitter aftertaste.

3. Karabella Dairy (Score: 4.12-Dessert) – Best Filipino ice cream flavors this holiday season

They collaborated with Chef Sau Del Rosario to create a limited edition Sawsaw Champorado, with Chef Nathaniel Uy to come up with the Spiked Holiday Cake Gelato which is infused with Destileria Limtuaco’s Very Old Captain Rum, and with Clara Ole to invent Guava Cheese Gelato using Clara Ole’s Guava Jelly with kesong puti. They are made from carabao’s milk, just like the regular flavors of Karabella.

4.Cafe Uji (Score: 4.06-Drink) – Best New Matcha and Coffee Cart in Manila

Their Matcha is made with creamy Japanese milk, and they also offer Singapore-style cold brew coffee. Both are crafted with the finest