Food Event Alert: Calle Bistro on November 12, 2011

I could definitely feel the Christmas breeze, love and food as early as… now. Fashion bazaars, Pre-Christmas events, and food bazaars are all spreading Christmas love.

I just love checking my email and newsfeed for I’m bound to find something to do during the weekends. This time, what caught my eye was Calle Bistro, a food event happening this November 12, 2011 at Eastwood Citywalk 2 from 6PM to 3AM.

Organized by the UP Junior Philippine Institute of Accountants or UP JPIA, Calle Bistro is a food sale that targets to bring together different kinds of cuisine—local and foreign catering to yuppies and food lovers in general allowing them to relax, socialize and discover new food finds and flavors. This event is also perfect for those who wanted to have their products (or new products for those who have been around for a while now) out in the market.

My First Bite: Khas Food House

For some reason, I love UP… okay, to be more specific, I love the food stalls and restaurants in UP.

Last August 14, 2011, a few CSers (that’s Couchsurfers for short) and I went to UP for a food trip. I arrived late as I got confused with the word OBLE. I thought that was a person or something. I guess I got it mixed up with OPLE. Anyway, OBLE is short for oblation.

We walked all throughout the food trip thinking that we will be pigging out the whole afternoon.

We first saw Myrna’s sorbetes (dirty ice cream—well, it is not really dirty it was called so because it is considered street food). Oh well, we can’t be picky eaters. So what if we start the food trip with dessert first?

I was so surprised that they offer AVOCADO flavor. Isn’t it a bit expensive? Anyway, I just have to try it.

For PHP25, the serving was very generous (unlike the overpriced sorbetes I had in Makati. PHP50 for a tiny serving!) The avocado flavor was not a disappointment at all. To describe it better, it tasted like Arce Dairy. The avocado taste wasn’t overpowering. It actually went well with the cheese flavored ice cream.

But what I wanted to share in detail was my Khas Food House dining experience.

It is an Indian restaurant in UP near where the foreign students stay. I was so surprised when I saw that they offer TAPSILOG.

It took us a while to order as most of the dishes we wanted were not available at that time. I finally decided on ordering Llon Dam Mong (PHP70) and Ox Brain Sandwich (PHP65) since I never tried ox brain ever before. One of my friends ordered “It’s Not What You Think” which made us curious. It intrigued us even more when the server told us that the chef will just improvise on what he will include in the “still unknown” dish. In short, you’ll end up with something you may or may not like.

Finally, our orders arrived. First served was my Llon Dam Mong. It really did taste like sinigang (sour Filipino soup normally served with pork, beef, or shrimps). It had bits of chicken, shrimps, and vegetables. Good but not great.

Now for the Ox Brain Sandwich…

It tasted like chicken curry for me. Well, I could see that what I was eating looked like a brain… but for some reason, it tasted like chicken. Weird… but it seems that most dishes taste like chicken. It was quite good. A light meal perfect as an afternoon snack.

If you’re curious on what my friend got… it was soup that tasted like tinola (yet another Filipino dish served with chicken and ginger). It was definitely something she did not expect.

Food was really affordable and decent. I can't wait to visit the others namely ROC, Lutong Bahay, LKB (Lutong Kapitbahay), and more!

My first kiss…

Okay, it was my second… with The Chocolate Kiss that is.

I still remember what I ordered when I first visited The Chocolate Kiss—their famous Devil’s Food Cake (slice: PHP70; whole: PHP700) with all of the gooey marshmallow goodness. It was really good. It deserved to be the  café’s bestseller. Moist and flavorful yet you won’t easily get tired of it. It wasn’t very sweet either but still pleases the palate of a sugar-craving foodie.

Devil's Food Cake

Since I don’t like ordering the same thing twice, I ordered something different when I “accidentally” visited it last week (we were supposed to go on a picnic but Mother Nature was in a bad mood that day). I ordered Dayap Chiffon Cake (slice: PHP80; whole: PHP800) since the server told us that it is one of their best sellers. My friends ordered the Devil’s Food Cake and Carrot Cake (slice: PHP70; whole: PHP700).

Yey!!! The cakes have arrived. Happy… uh… day.

I was pretty disappointed that they did not serve the cakes nicely for picture purposes. Oh well… cake is still cake.

Now to taste the #2 (or was it #3?) best selling cake…

Dayap Chiffon Cake

It was… not something I will order again. I guess I am not fond of citrus cakes. It reminds me of cough syrup for some reason. Then again if you like dishes with a bit of tangy taste, then this is a must try.

The carrot cake on the other hand was nothing spectacular. It was moist and good but it is at par with the other carrot cakes I’ve tried before.

 

Carrot Cake

After having our desserts and on our way to have lunch (yes, we sometimes eat that way), I realized that I have never tried their savory dishes. I now have an instant reason to go back (and try the cheesecakes).

The Chocolate Kiss is located at the G/F Ang Bahay ng Alumni, R. Magsaysay St., University of the Philippines campus, Quezon City