First Bite: Cake Shots

The holiday's festive vibe has been trying to bring out the party animal in me. However, every time I see the horrific Manila traffic, I stay put at home and avoid going crazy or go on a (passenger) road rage. Thankfully, I discovered a new treat that would redefine and spice things up with how I do my afternoon tea sessions at home.  

Hello, Cake Shots!

Just like how its name suggests, Cake Shots offer baked goods infused with liquor.

Restaurant Discovery: Your Local

Legaspi has transformed into another foodie destination. With quaint coffee shops and charming restaurants, this is one area I just have to visit. A few weeks back was my first trip in this area and I visited Yardstick and Local Edition. My favorite Dragon lady and I also planned visiting Your Local as it has been getting great reviews. It took longer than we planned but we finally got to pay the place a visit last week.

Hello, Your Local!

Since the place is usually packed, reservation is important. I made a reservation for two at 6 p.m. on (an apparently rainy) Saturday. Placing a reservation was smooth as after 3 minutes or so, I’m done. However, I got a call two days later telling me that my reservation is good until 7:30 p.m. only if I wanted a table (as they accidentally gave me bar seats). WHAT THE HECK? That made me upset as I don’t want to be constantly checking my watch while enjoying my dinner. But the woman assisting me was able to arrange things for me after I expressed my annoyance with the situation. [Case closed.]

The place was quite dark. I guess it sets that chill ambiance the young crowd wants.

We immediately ordered our food as we were both hungry. We settled for the Carrot Cake (PHP280) as appetizer, Torched Salmon Donburi (PHP390) and Chorizo Sandwich (PHP490) for main course. We also got Strawberry Lemonade (PHP190) and Sea Salt Lemonade (PHP160) for drinks.

Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Dome... Cheesecake!

Desserts truly have a BIG space in my tummy. No matter how full I am, I have to have desserts.

After watching Fright Night last night, my mom, sister, and I went dessert hunting. I thought that Café Metro also serves desserts since there’s the word café but I was not aware that they only serve savory dishes. Well, they have the “Dessert of the Day” priced at PHP90. That day, they were serving Banana Fritters and Buko Pandan. I just had Banana Fritters for breakfast (yes, I also make sure I get to have desserts as early as 8am) and I was not in the mood for anything coconut-y.

Then we remembered Dome and its delicious blueberry cheesecake.

*Off to Dome*

I still have fragments of childhood memories dining at Dome. Some were good and some were not so good. But whenever I remember blueberry cheesecake, I smile.

When we arrived, there were only a few cakes left. There was one slice of carrot cake, a few personal sized Blueberry Cheesecake, Devil’s Food Cake, and Sugar Free Mango Cheesecake. There was also an almost whole blueberry cheesecake.

We decided to order one personal Sugar Free Mango Cheesecake (PHP240), Devil’s Food Cake (personal: PHP195, slice: PHP155), and Blueberry Cheesecake (personal: PHP210, slice: PHP165).

Sugar Free Mango Cheesecake

My sister had the Sugar Free Mango Cheesecake and it was just fine. It was not outstanding or something that I would crave. I found it a bit thick and heavy—the type that sticks to the palate. My sister thought that the mangoes were also bit too sour (can’t really say the same thing as I love sour food). Anyway, in the end, we were not able to finish it.

Next cake was the Devil’s Food Cake. I love the one from The Chocolate Kiss. The frosting was delightful as it has the melted marshmallow texture and the chocolate cake inside was not too sweet. The Dome version on the other hand was a bit too sweet for me. The frosting was sugar overload. I didn’t like the chocolate cake as well as it was not as moist as I think it should have been. Nonetheless, I think this is still a hit to those who are hardcore sugar lovers.

Devil's Food Cake

Finally, my favorite, Blueberry Cheesecake…

Blueberry Cheesecake

The blueberries were a bit sweet and sour complementing the cheesecake. Also, the cheesecake was light and the texture was smooth. It was one dessert I would love to order after one heavy meal. I just thought that the strawberry syrup on the plate a bit odd though. If only they have spelled Dome or put it more creatively than like a blob or small puddle of blood, it would have been more appetizing.

Dome is located at the Ground Floor of Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong City (in front of Mercury Drugstore).

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