Beat the Heat:Shakeaway

This year’s summer is insane! The scorching heat is just too much and it makes me crave for cold treats every hour (or two). Thankfully, one of the cold dessert shops I’ve been eying for months finally opened its doors in Uptown Mall making it a lot more accessible to me than its first branch in U.P. Town Center. Yes, those two are different locations and are quite far from each other. And yes, I am talking about Shakeaway.

Hello, Shakeaway!

I was welcomed by a bright and predominantly white store. The first thing I noticed was the bunch of white containers by the counter which reminds me of a pharmacy. Apparently, that’s where Shakeaway puts its sweet treats. If I were to count the number of containers on display, I’m sure it’d be over 100 as there are 180 flavors and toppings to choose from!

Beat the Heat: Rita's Italian Ice

With Manila’s scorching heat, it was not surprising that Rita’s was a hit when it came to Manila two years ago. I still remember the long queue just to get your frozen custard fix. I have to admit, I tried my best not to give in to the craze but eventually found myself lining up a few months later (since it opened its first branch in Greenhills) and was delighted by Rita’s Gelati or a combination of Italian ice and frozen custard. Fast forward to 2016, Rita’s is still getting a lot of attention with its wide array of flavors and combinations to choose from. And I had an opportunity to sample a bunch of Rita’s bestselling items a few Saturdays ago.

Hello, Rita’s Italian Ice!

I dropped by Rita’s U.P. Town Center branch on a sunny Saturday afternoon and was warmly greeted by its Marketing Officer Angela who treated us to a refreshing afternoon snack.

We first sampled Italian Ice in cotton candy, green apple, sugar-free dragon fruit, mango and kiwi-strawberry flavors. All are light in flavor and quite refreshing. I enjoyed kiwi-strawberry best as its slight tangy taste helped cleanse the palate. R on the other hand loved the bestselling flavor cotton candy. Well, he is pretty biased with anything cotton candy. 

First Dibs: llaollao Philippines

It has been quite a while since I first saw an Instagram post featuring this new yogurt place opening in Glorietta. Curious with this new and rather late yogurt player, I did a bit of research and discovered that this brand is quite popular and well-loved in Europe, particularly in Spain. It is also a craze in Singapore where it has its largest store. Several foodies were giddy about the opening and their excitement was as contagious as the worst virus. Without knowing its taste or what sets it apart from other brands like Red Mango and White Hat, I became ecstatic with the store’s grand opening. And finally, the day llaollao (pronounced as Yao Yao) opens its doors to the public has arrived!

Hello, llaollao! 

Located at the ground floor of Glorietta 2, across Landmark, it is a store that doesn’t even need to demand attention as you’ll easily spot it. The brightly lit and and predominantly white store makes it an ideal photo shoot location for its mouthwatering swirls. 

This Spanish frozen yogurt shop boasts of its stores using natural ingredients which provide healthy values such as 46% of calcium recommended daily allowance for a medium-sized tub. They also use skimmed milk making it perfect for the calorie counter foodies. Oh and llaollao’s frozen yogurt has zero trans fat and is gluten-free. Winner!!!

Sanum is llaollao's signature parfait and it was a hit during its media launch and I could see why. The three layers of fresh fruit, two crunches, syrup and frozen yogurt combination was presented ready to be Instagrammed. And we finally get to indulge in some thanks to the llaollao team! 

Just like most yogurt shops around, you could also customize your yogurt based on your preference. In llaollao, you could play around with three types of fruits, two crunches and one sauce. With several toppings to choose from, combination possibilities are endless! (Okay, fine, there are roughly 700 possible combinations.) I went with a safe mix of strawberry, kiwi, dragonfruit, Filipino White Chocolate Biscuit, muesli with chocoates and Lotus syrup. Only one size is available for Sanum and it's priced at PHP199.

The yogurt base was thick and had a creamy consistency. It was not icy at all! It was also slightly tangy so do not expect the usual vanilla ice cream tasting yogurt that'll make you question if you are indulging in a healthy treat. 

Food I Love: Vargas Kitchen's Brazo Bomb

A meal is not complete without desserts. There are even times when I look forward to desserts more than the main course. And one of my favorite desserts is from…

Vargas Kitchen.

I’m so glad that they expanded and have more branches. (The only one I know is in Market Place, Rockwell.) I have tried their buttercake and it was great! But my favorite is Vargas Kitchen’s Brazo Bomb!

Think of the delightful chilled Brazo de Mercedes and top it with soft and slightly chewy meringue. Okay, it’s more of brazo with vanilla whipped ice cream and Vargas Kitchen polvoron crust or so what their materials say.  

It is available in a box of 6 (mini cupcakes) for PHP180 or mini cake for PHP125 (pictured).

Give it a try!

Vargas Kitchen is located at Market Place Rockwell and Market Place Shangri-La Plaza Mall.