Fun Family Bonding Activity: Mamon It Yourself With Monde Nissin

One thing parents always ask me is suggestions for fun summer activities for their kids and for their family. I always tell them that apart from the numerous summer programs that are sprouting here and there, nothing beats quality time spent with their kids during summer. This is one of the things I always try to do for my own family. And because my kids are young, ages 4 and 1, the best way we bond together is through food (cooking, baking and of course eating) and by being silly (playing around and making a beautiful mess). Summer is the time my family & I try to be spontaneous as we are not bounded by schedules related to school.

Perfect timing as my family and I got an invite to a #MIY (Mamon It Yourself) event which got me very excited, so did my darling daughter Gabbie. Why? First off, we love mamon! It’s one of those pastries that we always have in our home.  Second, we love DIY activities that can stimulate our creativity. And third, combining these two things together is something we haven’t thought about nor have done, it’s just sheer genius to decorate mamon however you want. Who could say no to that? 😉

The Monde Summer Mamon It Yourself event was held last April 5, 2014 at Yardstick Cafe. Upon entering the venue, a wall filled with Monde Special Mamon and an assortment of toppings greeted us, which made us more delighted.

This cute little pop up kitchen area serves as a backdrop for photo ops.

The Monde Special Mamon kiosk that serves as the registration booth. Those are real mamons & cream puffs by the way, which my son lil’ Mr. GJG kept on getting during the event. Heehee.

Chef Mitchie Sison preparing the ingredients she needs at her station for her demo.

I just had to take a photo of this mamon spread. Imagine, these fluffy, soft, yummy little things get a makeover that’s bound to make them even more enticing for kids and kids at heart (ahem, ahem, that includes me).

Icing in different colors.

Toppings ranging from candies, to chocolates, to cereals, to nuts, to fruits were provided for everyone to choose from and use.

A crafty and creative day wouldn’t be complete with art materials.

Two other products my kids and I love are the Nissin wafer sticks and Nissin wafers. We like it so much, we can finish an entire pack in one sitting.

For cream puff lovers like me, try Monde’s Special Cream Puff. Its crunchy shell is filled with creamy chocolate or custard filling.

No Yardstick visit is complete without trying their signature coffee drinks.

Chef Mitchie quickly showed the early birds how to frost a mamon.

Mamon has been my favorite even when I was a child and I have influence my kids to love it as well. But how come I haven’t thought about decorating and amping up the way mamons are enjoyed?! To whoever thought about this, thank you! I will never look at mamon the same way again. As I type this post, I’m munching on a Monde Special Mamon spread with cookie butter, sprinkled with crushed graham crackers, topped with mango slices. Yum! 😉

A quick selfie with my fellow mommas- Rowena, Tin and Fleur, before the event proper started.

Now it’s the kids’ turn- Anika, Gabbie and Juro.

The kulit bulilit!

Radio jock, host and mom Delamar Arias, facilitated the family event and she even brought her son, Cooper with her.

Too kyoot as Delamar asked Cooper how he is.

Cooper gave everyone an innocent I-don’t-know-what-to-answer-as-I’m busy-with-the-toy-I’m-holding-look. Which made everyone burst out a smile or a polite laugh. In Delamar’s case it was a fit of laughter. He’s too adorable!

Soon after, Chef Mitchie Sision gave a demo on how to make a cream cheese frosting.

First, if you’re using a mixer, make sure to attach the paddle (the flat one). Start by mixing cream cheese and butter, then add confectionary sugar. Let it mix thoroughly and check if consistency is spreadable (dense enough). Once it is, you can start piping by putting it in a pipe bag. Apply the frosting on a mamon as desired.

If you want to make your frosting more fluffier, simply add whip cream to your cream cheese frosting.

Quick tip: to check if your frosting has the right consistency, it must present a steep peak. Dip your spatula on the frosting batter and quickly pull it out. If the frosting spikes upward (like in the photo) then it presents a steep peak consistency.

Another quick tip: for first time pipers, in order to pipe efficiently, make sure that the bag is sealed. By using your thumb and index finger, slowly twist it several times to lock and secure the frosting inside the piping bag, releasing any air pockets.

Last quick tip: to start piping, make sure that the tip of your pipe bag is at least a centimetre away from your base. This will give ample space for the frosting to settle for the first drop, making it easier for you to frost. Remember to use your wrist instead of moving your entire arm to work on putting a perfect frosting decor on your mamon. Also, use your four fingers (thumb not included) to press the pipe bag to squeeze out more frosting- this is the proper way to do so, no need to use two hands.

Here’s lil’ Ms. GJG first attempt at piping. With a lil’ bit of help from me, I say we did a pretty good job!

Candy sprinkle is her favorite topper, so here she is helping herself with a serving as she decorates her first mamon.

Yay! She was way too proud of her creation 🙂

After Chef Mitchie, blogger and mom Grace Baja of The Spoiled Mummy shared how she gave a personal touch to that afternoon’s canvas- Monde Special Mamon. Monde Special Mamon is made with real fresh eggs, imported wheat flour, and milk. Bajed to be delicious!

Grace loves cooking and baking, so she shared some of her ideas on how to incorporate everyday ingredients found in one’s pantry.

She opted to use fresh fruits, jams, peanut butter, cookie butter spread, and even queso de bola!

Add the ingredients on top of the mamon or even sandwich it in between the two halves, creating a mamon filling.

Grace Baja’s very own Spoiled Mamon- Monde Nissin mamon adorned with cookie butter, pistachio nuts topped with strawberry slices. Yum!

Now the moment we’ve been waiting for, we get to decorate our mamons! Yahoo!

Spot Gabbie’s hands as she dips it in, she’s ready to eat the toppings.

She was super excited and eager to work on her mamons. This is one thing that I like my kids to do- to experience things themselves. Because they’re kids, I expect that they won’t perfect it the first time and I expect that their work station will get messy. But that’s the whole point of letting them have fun!

While my kids and Mr. GJG work on our mamons, my seat mate Rowena’s done with hers. Love the flower garden theme she created.

And here’s our creation! My lil’ Mr. GJG was busy eating all the toppings and making a mess but the look on his face upon seeing the two character mamons we made was priceless! My kids love Sesame Street and we would’ve wanted to create Elmo and Big Bird but we weren’t able to get red and yellow frostings. Nonetheless, we made Oscar the Grouch and Cookie Monster along with the other mamons my lil’ Ms. GJG & Mr. GJG made themselves.

We got a messy table and frosting splattered on our clothes, but look at the smile on my kids’ faces! Such a simple yet fulfilling activity we did made my kids oh so happy!
Our lil’ helpers helping themselves to the creations we made. The GJG family had fun with the Mamon-It-Yourself activity.

But the event didn’t end just yet. Little did we, the moms know that a surprise was waiting for us. While we were busy watching the demos made by Chef Mitchie and Grace, the kids were busy in the other room, doing some crafts themselves.Here’s Gabbie’s creation, a cupcake she dedicated for me. As surprised as I am, it didn’t stop here. We were able to watch a video where our kids gave heart warming messages to us. This I was totally clueless. I was so surprised as usually, Gabbie would share with me what she did, revealing the surprise even before I get to see it. This time around she didn’t spill any details at all, making it really special as I really had no idea, even her dad was surprised seeing the video.

Awwww. They’re too adorable don’t you agree? The video has proven even more that I have a pusong mamon (soft heart). Thank you so much Monde for hosting the lovely day I got to spend with my family and for the heart warming surprise you gave. It’s definitely the highlight of our summer break, as spending time with my family is something I don’t compromise and has always been my priority. Truly this is something we won’t forget and would forever be one of those rare moments where we truly had fun and enjoyed doing something together as a family.

The surprise didn’t end there as we got to take home a MIY (Mamon-It-Yourself)  kit!
We’re so looking forward in continuing our bonding over decorating mamon at home.

So if you’re looking for a fun and creative way of spending good quality time with your kids, look not further away- Mamon-It-Yourself at home. Bust out your creativity, let the fun begin and start creating your mamon recipes and decorations with your family. Fun recipes can also be found here www.monde.com.ph

Share away with #MamonItYourself