Meeting Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet & My 10 Awesome Food Finds of the Night

If you've read my post yesterday, you must be wondering what event I went to last Friday. 

Clue: I picked up the tickets for this event when I visited Fun Ranch. 

I went to Our Awesome Planet's Ultimate Taste Test 5.0. 


Yesterday, I narrated the difficulty we went through to attend this event because of the terrible traffic, heavy rains and seemingly endless taxi bay lines. Throughout our crazy amazing race that night, I kept telling RJ, "I just want to meet Anton Diaz."


Anton Diaz is the brainchild behind Our Awesome Planet. I wanted to meet him in person and hopefully get to talk with him for a few minutes (if I can, without sounding like a fan girl!). Actually that's the main reason why I wanted to attend the Ultimate Taste Test 5.0.

Anton Diaz with his kids on stage

Anton Diaz is one of the bloggers that I really look up to. I'm really amazed at how far he has taken his blog. Aside from the Ultimate Taste Test event, he also has a planner and a TV show in line. He also offered blogging classes in partnership with Asian Institute of Management this year. Now that's what you call entrepreneurial! 


When I saw Anton Diaz in the crowd, I instantly lit up and begged RJ to take my picture with Anton. However, whenever we tried to come near him, another person would snag the opportunity. We then had to wait along the sidelines to the point that I felt we were stalker-ish. :P Sorry about that. 


Finally, when we were lingering around the food stall close to Anton, I saw a window of opportunity and jumped at it. So here it is, my picture with Anton Diaz: 

Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet and Fan girl Smarla 

Smurfette from the Smurfs
(photo courtesy of giantbomb.com)

Yaaaay! This photo is my consolation on a stressful evening like this. 


Our conversation was quite brief since I couldn't contain the fan girl in me for a longer time. Here's a short snippet of our conversation: 

Smarla: Hi I'm Smarla, I'm a big fan of your blog! I'm so happy to finally meet you in person.

Anton: Smarla? Smarla? Is your name from the Smurfs? (Boo I thought he recognized my name from the comments :P)

That's not the first time I received that reaction. :p Her name's Smurfette, not Smarla. And no, I'm not addicted to Smores. :P These are the usual conversation starters I receive. 


Anyway, I went on about certain OAP blog posts that I really like and inquired about his upcoming planner (I need a new planner - any suggestions?). We then talked about his really cute kids! They were running all over the place that night, how adorable!


After talking to him, I felt really blessed to have met him in person. He seems so opinionated in his blog so I was surprised to be confronted with a very nice, humble and seemingly shy family guy. 


Finally, I met Anton Diaz! Yaaay! Despite the really bad conditions that we had to endure to attend the event, I'm really happy that I was given this opportunity. Thank you Anton Diaz! 

Of course, we also went to the event because of the food! With all that good food laid out before you and waiting to be discovered, who can resist? 


Here's my 10 Awesome Food Finds of the Night:


1. The Hearty Onion - Roasted Pandan Wrapped Salmon 

Mini Pulled Beef Sandwiches

Roasted Pandan Wrapped Salmon

2. Mother Lee's Home Cooking (09175333005) - Hungarian Goulash

 3. Sassy K - Nacho Chips & Gourmet Dips 

4. Dulcelin - Korean Red Rice Salad & Hickory Smoked US Pork Belly

Korean Red Rice Salad

Hickory Smoked US Pork Belly

5. Christa's Kitchen - French Macaroons 

6. Sweet Finale - Dark Chocolate Flourless Cake

7. United Village Breadhouse - Crostini Toasts with Assorted Spreads

8. Fortune Empire Food Specialty - Roast Pork

9. Gustazo - Gourmet Tuyo & Pomodoro Tinapa

10. Hacienda Macalauan - Fresh Milk, Flavored Milk, Yoghurt 

I'll talk about our food discoveries in detail in future posts. 


Now I'm looking forward to more food discoveries! YUM!


~It's the little sweet notes everyday that matter. :)~