Sampaguita. Ginger. Nilagang Mani. Apparently, they all have something in common.
We had a client meeting at Café Ilustrado in SM Makati this afternoon and the first thing that came to my mind was “Hmm… what should I order?”
I was surprised that this small café offers meals such as Tapa, Lengua, Salpicao, among others to think that the kitchen (placed right after the counter) was made for one person and one person ONLY. Apparently, it is more than just a small café situated along the walkway to the department store.
We were still full then and we were there for a meeting and not to eat so we just ordered some pastries and desserts. Something got my attention though… ICE CREAM.
There it was… sampaguita (ignoring pandan, pinipig and nougat)… ginger… nilagang mani!!! I crossed out ginger since I was too scared that it might be just like those chocolate chili snacks. I was torn between sampaguita (jasmine flowers) and nilagang mani (boiled peanuts).
The server told me that their bestseller was sampaguita but I was so interested to try the nilagang mani. I then let my finger decide (eenie meenie miney mo… ) and it landed on nilagang mani.
I got excited since this will be my very first entry in my food journal.
WOO hoo?
My first impression was… the serving was too small for the price. I could have gotten gelato instead with that price. I guess the word homemade made it expensive (just like how organic stuff are priced).
Anyway, after taking a few shots, I finally took a (tea)spoonful and it… tasted like rocky road… at first. Soon, I got the taste of the nilagang mani. The taste was a bit weak though. It was still very much like vanilla ice cream with a hint of the sweetness of the nilagang mani.
Maybe I should have listened to the server instead. Nonetheless, I will be back to try sampaguita and ginger.
Café Ilustrado is located at the 4th level of SM Makati, Makati City.
