First Bite: Chiara's

I have seen a handful of posts and reviews about this gelato place in Venice Grand Canal Mall. I got very curious when I found out that one cup of three scoops only cost PHP120. Three scoops of gelato for less than two hundred bucks? I was sold! But it took me a while to visit this place as the famous and green Grand Canal could be very crowded with… selfie sticks. But after having lunch at Nihonkai Tsukiji, we decided to hunt for more Pokemon and ended up in the newest tourist destination in Manila. Since we were already there, I figured that I should swing by and try Chiara’s.

Hello, Chiara’s.

The place was packed when I visited on a Sunday afternoon. The gelato store’s area is quite small and gets too crowded once five or six customers are inside. They do have al fresco area though in front of the store. I really wouldn’t mind dining outside if only it wasn’t so humid that day. 

Love at First Bite: Kumori

I have been hearing about this Japanese cheesecake place for several months now. Aside from the delicately prepared cheesecakes, its milkshake also share the spotlight with its abundant photos on Instagram. It really made me curious but I do not want to brave the traffic even if Makati is quite near my place. But when R and I did our errands near SM North, I managed to convince the mall hater to drop by The Block and visit the cheesecake's branch there. It has been a long while since my last mall visit and honestly, I got dizzy. There were just too many people. And I can’t help wonder what these people do for a living for them to have time to shop around on a work day. After getting lost and making a few wrong turns, we finally reached Kumori.

Hello, Kumori!

The place was packed when we arrived. I didn’t really think of what to pick anymore. I just chose the one near the counter as it seemed to take the cashier a long time to finish one transaction. I got a Custard Butter Bun (PHP45), Hanjuku Cheese Original (PHP48), Hanjuku Cheese Chocolate (PHP48) and Cottage Cheese (PHP58). I also got Choco Hazelnut Milkshake (PHP175). 

When I placed my order for milkshake, the server/cashier told me that they ran out of mason jars and asked if it’s okay that they serve it on a take out cup. I insisted that I want it on a mason jar for blog purposes and she found a way to serve mine on a mason jar. I’m sure the person before me was pissed when she heard that as she also ordered milkshake and hesitated to say yes to the take out cup.

While waiting for our milkshake, we took a bite off some of our purchases. 

The Custard Butter Bun was delightfully chewy like mochi buns. I also love the faint taste of custard which made me appreciate the bun even more. 

As for the cheesecakes, I have to agree with the reviews on Hanjuku Cheese Original and Chocolate. These are amazing! It was soft, milky and undeniably packed. It is what I call quality pastries. I do not mind splurging on these small cheesecakes if quality is like this. I am in love. It was definitely love at first bite.

First Bite: Farmacy Ice Cream and Soda Fountain

I have been planning to visit Farmacy Ice Cream and Soda Fountain for almost a year now! But for some reason, I always end up going somewhere else till one Monday night.

My long wait is finally over! Hello, Farmacy Ice Cream and Soda Fountain!

The store is quite charming with its slightly retro signage.

I also loved the “prescriptions” sign which is a play with the name of the store (Farmacy—Pharmacy).

But what I loved most about this place is the oh-so-patient staff who let us try as many flavors as we want till we decide which one to order. I think I sampled over 8 flavors.

After my sampling spree, I decided to get Pick Me Up sundae (PHP280) which comes with Hazelnut, Vanilla and Coffee Verve ice cream, toffee nuts, whipped cream and an espresso shot topped with thin chocolate waffle. Since I wasn’t too crazy with vanilla, I went with Milk, one of the flavors R sampled. Milk was just like vanilla, only creamier. I also swapped whipped cream with sliced almonds for more texture.

And after a bit, my sundae arrived.

Finally... Wildflour Café + Bakery

[Continuation of Black Saturday food trip] We were already starting to get full when we were on our way to our last stop. I persuaded the group that we walk (since I love talking walks, yes, even here in Manila) to the last stop. But the heat made A want to take a cab and M and T agreed. It was 1:3 so we took a cab in the end.

Hello, Wildflour Café + Bakery!

As a foodie, I feel slightly embarrassed to say that this is my first trip to the croughnut paradise spot, Wildflour. Every time I plan to visit this place, it gets cancelled. But last Black Friday was not one of those days. I finally made it!

Since we were still pretty full, T and M decided to go for just desserts and drinks. However, A and I decided to order pasta with our cakes and drinks. T and M shared a slice of Salted Chocolate Cake (PHP195), A went for the Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie (PHP190) and Mac n’ Cheese (PHP280) while I went for the Cheesecake Flan (PHP195), a cup of iced Hazelnut Chocolate (PHP160) and Rustichella Squid Ink Spaghetti (PHP450). Yes, A and I were full too. (But we managed to find a bit of space somewhere.)

While waiting, a complimentary plate of bread with salted butter was served. I love that it was served warm and it sure made me forget that I was full. Munching on the fragrant bread with butter topped with rock salt was delish!

Soon, our orders arrived.

Food Find: Chatime's Kronuts

The Cronut mania is still very alive as I still see long lines in Wildflour, empty racks in Chatime and posts on social media. I got to try the ones from Dunkin Donut (which you have to eat warm if you want to enjoy it), the cute version of Le Coeur (cute because it was the smallest so far), and Chatime’s Kronuts (which at first was sold out 30 minutes after opening). There’s still a lot more to try but my pants are suffering!

My mom called me one night and said that she was buying a few stuff from Pioneer Center and the first thing that came to my head was Chatime’s Kronuts. (They spell it like that since they can’t use the word Cronut as it was trademarked.) My mom asked which flavors and I tried to think for a moment but then decided to say, “ALL!” So much for trying to live healthier. >.<

When I got home, I was greeted by 6 Kronuts and all looked so yummy and saying, “Eat me! No me first! MEEE!” Okay, that was weird but you get my point.

The first one I tried was the sugar raised Kronut and I was surprised that it has hazelnut filling! I really enjoyed this one!

Yakitake Japan Moment: Dezaato Pan Breads Sweets Café

For some reason, I wake up really early on weekends. Last Saturday, I woke up at 5am (to think that it was such a “bed” weather) because I was super hungry. It was also the same day of my food trip so I decided to stick with just some bread and jam.

My friend sent me an SMS telling me that everyone cancelled for breakfast. Well, it was not such a surprise for an 8:30am call time on a rainy Saturday morning screams SLEEP.

But determined to well… eat, my friend and I decided to have breakfast somewhere. The original plan was to try Marina at the Mall of Asia but since it was raining, we decided to change the plan a bit. We drove through Katipunan only to realize that most stores were still closed and those up and running were either fast food chains or restaurants that serve food I “was” not allowed to eat then. 

Soon, we found ourselves stuck in a light traffic going to Tomas Morato.  

We finally settled in Dezaato Pan, a quaint café known for its bread and cake. 

Ferrero Quadruplet!

I was so surprised when I found out that there is actually a dark chocolate Ferrero. I hurriedly emailed my mom (who was in the States then) to buy me a box (or two). I decided to check the net to read reviews about the dark chocolate version as to make realistic expectations (huh?). To my surprise (again!), there are actually more flavors!!! Aside from the hazelnut and dark chocolate, there are also coconut and pistachio flavors! And since I was too excited to try all those flavors and could not wait for my mom, I decided to check supermarkets and all other possible places that sell Ferrero. Alas, I was unsuccessful. Even the two Duty Free in Cebu do not carry it. (Sad T.T)

Finally, OCTOBER 26, 2010, my mom arrived with Ferrero boxes (less the pistachio variant). I munched on the dark chocolates and I was… disappointed. I was expecting something a bit bitter… what dark chocolates were supposed to be. It was on the sweet side and my initial reaction was “THIS IS TOO SWEET TO BE CONSIDERED DARK CHOCOLATE” but I loved it nonetheless. There was no nut though so the crunch factor was lesser L Its inner chocolate is very velvety though. YUM!

As for the coconut, a lot of people DO NOT like it at all. And I… am not one of them. It was rather interesting. It reminded me of macaroons with the tidbits of coconut. The coconut gave this Ferrero a different texture. It also complements the white chocolate. I am not so sure though if the market for this is huge.

The pistachio on the other hand is something I would not crave that much. It also does not have a nut inside (like the dark chocolate and the coconut) but the outer “shell” is covered by bits of pistachio thus the flavor. I guess, I am just not fond of pistachio. It has this strong vanilla taste which I find a bit odd.

I do not think that I have to describe hazelnut since this is the most popular flavor.

<3

 Pictures of the WHOLE DARK CHOCOLATE, COCONUT and PISTACHIO FERRERO :)