#GoogleMoLang: Search for the Epic Food Trip! @TheMallofAsia

by #TeamOAP

We are proud of Team Our Awesome Planet for winning #GoogleMoLang: Search for the Epic Food Trip private event. They had grand time searching for the yummiest Pinoy Food Spots, and you can too! Send in your entries before August 15, and stand a chance to be part of google’s commercial plus win amazing prizes! 

Check out #TeamOAP‘s experience, and don’t forget to read contest guideline below…

(#GoogleMoLang: Search for the Epic Food Trip! Winning Entry)

Google’s search for the most Epic Food Trip, #GoogleMoLang, is a campaign that highlights the usefulness of Google’s intuitive search functions. Five of the Philippines’ top food and travel blogs as well as media outlets were invited to participate to create the most epic food trip! The winner of the event would have the opportunity to be featured in a Google commercial endorsed by famous Filipino YouTubers like Mikey Bustos, Bogart the Explorer, Erwan Heussaff, Ramon Bautista and even Lourd de Veyra.

Check out Mikey Bustos message on how you can be part of Google’s Epic Food Trip commercial…

(Message from Mikey) Attention: We’re working with Google to create their next commercial, and we want you to be a part of it! Just send to tripngbarkada@googlegroups.com a 2-min video of your barkada going on your most epic Filipino food trip, with a little help from Google Search. Make sure you show us on a piece of paper the question that you asked Google while on your food trip. Send in your video by August 15, and if I like it, it’ll be in the next Google commercial. If I really, really, really like it, I will give you a GoPro!

Other important guidelines:
No nudity, profanity, violence, defamation of character
Shoot horizontally
They must meet the criteria of 40% Usage and relevance of Search, 30% Friends benefiting as a result of Google, and 30% Creativity and Fun
Minimum resolution of 720 pixels and in one of the following formats: MPEG, AVI, QUICKTIME, FLV or WMF format.
Full Terms & Conditions will be emailed to you as soon as you submit your entry, so please make sure to indicate your email address when you submit your video.

 

In a group of a minimum of four foodies, each team headed to Lamesa Grill for the activity briefing. We learned all about Google’s snazzy search functions that, admittedly, most of us never even knew about! Not only did we learn how to activate a Google search by saying “Ok, Google”, but we also learned we could ask for directions, set an alarm, or even contact someone via Viber just by using our voices. After the crash course in Google Search Jedi School, each team was assigned two “nannies”, two behind-the-scenes photographers, two android phones, and a budget of 5,000 PHP.

 

The objective of the activity was simple: find, film, and eat in as many Filipino food spots in SM Mall of Asia within the given time period; the more food spots, the more epic!

 

Team Awesome consisted of Nico Fernandez, Vhyr Castro, Sheila Gomez, and Reanne Apostol.

We were given an envelope of thirty food-related riddles that lead to a particular Filipino restaurant within SM Mall of Asia. To find a specific restaurant, the team had to ask Google key questions along the lines of: “Ok, Google. Which restaurant in Mall of Asia serves Bamboo Rice?” Google would then take us to the most relevant result, which would then be verified by our two nannies.

Here is Team Awesome’s Sheila and Reanne enjoying the original Ted’s Old Timer Lapaz Batchoy, located at MOA’s food court on the second floor. As you can see, it really put a smile on our faces.

 

Here a shot of the team at Juan’s Bistro. What we have on the table is their specialty the Grilled Sisig. Best served drizzled with calamansi and paired with piping hot rice.

 

Ever heard of “Chanos Chanos”? No? Well, that was Team Awesome’s reaction until they Googled it. It turns out that “Chanos Chanos” is the scientific term for “Milkfish”, or in other words, “Bangus”. 

  

What is Filipino food without mirienda? Bibingkinitan’s delightful rice cakes smell of home.

 

We had the opportunity to try Abe Restaurant’s famous Bamboo Rice and Arobung Camaru. If you don’t know what that is, it’s basically Cricket Adobo, a Kapampangan delicacy.  To our surprise, it tasted a little like soft-shelled crab. But alas, all fun things must come to an end. Abe Restaurant would be our last stop before editing and judging. We ate at fourteen restaurants total within a span of three hours.

 

Each team was given a total of one hour to edit the draft video for presentation. Although the competition was friendly, we could tell everyone wanted the opportunity to be part of the nationwide Google commercial. The stakes were quite high.

Just like that, our qualms were put to rest when Bogart the Explorer and Jako de Leon announced Team Awesome as the winners of Google’s Epic Food Trip! All of us jumped for joy and high-fived each other. We were so ecstatic that we nearly forgot to grab our prizes, which consisted of 10,000 Pesos worth of Gift Certificates to Blackbird.

 

Google’s Epic Food Trip event was definitely a day to remember. Not only did we discover great new Filipino restaurants, but also bonded as a group of friends. So next time you and your barkada want to find the best food spots anywhere in the Philippines, Google mo lang!

 

Live an Awesome Life, 

Juanico, Sheila, Vyhr, Reanne and Abi
Our Awesome Planet Team

Disclosure: We are media guest during the #GoogleMoLang: Search for the Epic Food Trip contest. We wrote this article with our biases, opinions, and insights. Read Our Awesome Planet Complete Disclosure Policy here.