First Bite: Pastry Armoire x The Wander Space

Ensaymada has been a staple merienda dish in the Filipino food scene. The fluffy bread topped with generous serving of butter and sugar on top can be bought in local bakeries and chains like Goldilocks and Red Ribbon. The growth of the market with discerning taste gave room to premium ensaymada offering more than your usual buttered pastry. We have the famous ensaymada of Pampanga hitting food bazaars like Yummy Eats and Ultimate Taste Test and we also have the like of Pastry Armoire. And I was lucky to be one of the guests of the later to its food tasting at the Instagram heaven, The Wander Space.

Hello, Pastry Armoire x The Wander Space. 

I was carrying several shoot items with me to the event and I gulped with cold sweat dripping down my temples when I saw The Wander Space on the third floor of a building along Maginhawa. With the elevator out of order, I took three flights up to get to the beautiful shop + coffee shop. And I was warmly greeted by Raymond of Pastry Armoire and Kim of The Wander Space. 

First Bite: Outré

I have been curious about Outré for the longest time. Photos of the ice cream store's vandalized walls and the overflowing scoops of liquid nitrogen gelato made me drool like a St. Bernard. But its two branches are a bit too far from me and just thinking about the traffic makes me cringe. And so I made sure to include Outré as one of our stops when we went to Aguirre for a food crawl.

Hello, Outré! 

The place was empty when we got there around 3:30 pm on a drizzling Sunday afternoon. 

I quickly ordered the Milo Dinosaur Gelato (PHP160) while K went with Dulce de Leche Gelato (PHP150). 

It was fun watching them prepare our gelato. The smoky/fog effect never fails to entertain me.

Second Bite: Melt Grilled Cheesery

I still remember how giddy I was when I first visited Melt Grilled Cheesery. With its menu filled with cheesy dishes, it was like I found (cheese) heaven in Uptown Mall. Everything we ordered were great too! It was love at first bite and I was so happy to share my discovery with my family and friends. But some of those who tried the place were not as ecstatic. *insert sad face here*

Hello, Melt Grilled Cheesery!

I managed to convince J and his girlfriend M to visit Melt with me after our pizza dinner. (Yes, I was a happy third wheel on their Friday night date.)

We easily managed to get a table as the place was not as full as its pizzeria neighbor.

We focused on the desserts as we just had dinner and went with Dulce de Lecheese (PHP285), Chocolate Chip Cheesecake (PHP215) and Dulce de Leche Cheesecake (PHP235 which was changed to PHP255 if I remember it correctly).

Service was prompt and house water was served in less than 5 minutes. We were also given a complimentary sandwich from the owners. They also spent time to chat with us and that was when I found out that their bread supplier is Artisan Emporium. 

New Dish Alert: Precynct Berry Brioche

NEW DISH ALERT! Precynct launched a new dessert!

After a tiring hour of jumping around and making ugly faces, R and I headed to The Grove by Rockwell to have dinner at his favorite tempura place. Yes, I'm referring to Asakusa.

While parking, I spotted R's good friends M and K having dinner at Burger Pub. We approached them and decided to have dessert together to catch up.

After a delectable dinner (this will be a different review), we went to Precycnt to try the mouthwatering Dulce de Leche brioche (PHP350). I wanted to try The Garden too but I wasn't sure if they have good desserts. Since I want to give the impression that I am a very reliable foodie, I went with a place I am sure to serve great drinks and food... Precynct.

Precynct was quite packed last night with only a few stools available. I was decided to order the dulce de leche brioche till the server suggested their newly launched Berry Brioche (PHP375). New? Strawberry? Brioche? And with ICE CREAM? Gimme one of that! So that ends my craving for dulce de leche.

I also got a cup of Bitter Burnt Better (PHP180) while R got a glass of Small Victory (PHP90). K and M shared a glass of Faux Cappuccino (PHP160).

The Berry Brioche was L-O-V-E! ️

Soft and fluffy brioche topped with slices of strawberries, strawberry puree (or jam?) and ice cream... what is not to love?

Love at First Bite: Melt Grilled Cheesery

It has been a few days ago when I saw Chessie T’s review on Melt Grilled Cheesery and I have been pestering R ever since. I would call out his name and when he looks, I would say, in my most whiny voice, Meeeeelt~ And after a few days of being adorably annoying (or maybe scratch adorable as I was just plain annoying according to the recipient of my puppy eyes), he finally gave in.

Hello, Melt Grilled Cheesery!

Tagged as the cheese lovers heaven, this restaurant sure knows how to attract foodies like me. Cheese on almost everything turned me into a fly lured by light. 

We arrived around 7 p.m. and the place was quite empty with only two other tables occupied. 

After browsing the menu and struggling to limit my order, R and I settled with Tomato Soup (PHP185), Mushroom Truffle (PHP300) with additional Parma Ham (PHP160), Big Buff (PHP395) and The Dulce de Leche Cheesecake (PHP235). 

We sat farthest the open kitchen and watched the crew prepare some dishes for other tables and perhaps ours too.

After a few minutes, the server approached us and mentioned that they do not have enough parma ham for one order and that the chef we talked to will just give us the few left for free. Yay for free parma ham!

In about 5 minutes, our tomato soup was served.

I loved the consistency of this soup. It was thick but not too heavy. It had a nice tangy tomato taste and the grilled cheese croutons made the dish even more delectable. Gooey cheese on my piping hot soup! 

R's mushroom truffle pasta was served next and it was soon followed by the parma ham.

The serving size of the parma ham made us realize why they hesitated to charge us. It was indeed too small to be priced at PHP160.

But those bits of toasted parma ham made the the dish so much better. It balanced the creaminess of the mushroom truffle sauce and it complemented the parmesan cheese. It also added texture to the soft pasta. Ordering additional parma ham is not a bad move at all even if it will cost you PHP460 total for the dish.

Last savory dish served was Big Buff. The chef we talked to actually recommended The Classic Melt (PHP265) since it is lighter and it is also his personal favorite. But the chicken lover in me won and I went with what I really want to try. And I sort of regretted it.

Sweet Ending: Florabel

I love people who love sweets. Ice cream, chocolates, cake, cookies, brownies, and more ice cream!!! I love chocolates so much that I once tried the “chocolate diet.” Well, I don’t think it exists but I tried to eat nothing but chocolates for a few days. (Yes, it was a bad idea but I had no regrets.) And a few weeks ago, I met a group who share the same love for sweets. <3

Hello, Florabel.

I recall that the only time I went inside Florabel was for a meeting with the people handling Magnum. And since the meeting was held after lunch, I just had a glass of… water. (And Magnum of course!)

This time though, we had some sweet meal enders. And we ordered quite a lot! S1, S2, S3 and D were the ones who chose the desserts and they picked Frozen Brazo de Mercedes (PHP225), Chocolate Mud Pie (PHP320), Crème Brûlée Torte with Fruits in Season (PHP245), Moist Yema Chocolate Cake (PHP275), Valrhona Chocolate Tartlet with Mango Chutney (PHP335), and Chocnut Torte (PHP245).

The Frozen Brazo de Mercedes tasted a bit too egg-y. (Sorry, I couldn’t think of a better term for this.) Perhaps I also compare it with the one I had from Spätzle. I liked the custard though and the contrast of the frozen meringue with the crunchy graham crust.

The Crème Brûlée Torte was so-so for me. It was probably my least favorite that night. It had a slight burnt taste but the fruits were fresh.

Restaurant Discovery: Burp

I get so excited every time I get to read a list of new restaurants near my area. Well, aside from being excited, I get frustrated too as there are times when I hardly know any from the lists. It means that I don’t get to explore that much and it makes me wonder what I do on weekends. Anyway, one list covers the restaurants in Mandaluyong and I was surprised that out of 20 or so, I was only able to visit 5. FIVE. It made me a bit disappointed with myself as a foodie. I must bring back the foodie the explorer in me. And so on my anniversary with work I decided to visit…

Burp!

I’m not exactly sure when this restaurant opened but it was part of the list I “reviewed” a few months back. It was pretty small but it could accommodate around 20 diners. Parking though is very limited.

The menu had a handful of choices from appetizers which are mostly soup and salad, sandwiches, breakfast meals, mains such as ribs and pork chops, pasta and desserts. There are a few shakes and frappes as well.

I decided to go for the Truffle Mac and Cheese (PHP245) and Stuffed Chicken with Garlic Cream Sauce (PHP245) while R went for the Roast Beef with Red Wine Sauce (PHP345). For drinks, I opted for the house blend iced tea (PHP55) while R got the Dulce de Leche Frappe (PHP125). We also ordered a slice of Blueberry Cheesecake Frost (PHP125) for dessert.

First served were our drinks.

My iced tea tasted like tamarind candy while R’s frappe was quite light (rather than thick) and milky.

Love at First Bite: La Lola Churreria

A few weeks ago, I saw a Nokia Snake Level 10 line while buying taho at Powerplant Mall. Apparently, there’s a new craze in town and it’s the churros of La Lola Churreria. New? Yes. Yummy? I heard. Game? Definitely!!! Long queues never fail to make me curious.

Hello, La Lola Churreria!

We got to the place around 1 PM and the line was more manageable that time so we decided to join the craze.

I wanted to try all but K and E were hesitant with the idea as we were still going to visit Salt for lunch and it could kill our appetite. (And I was thinking… right! As if that could kill my appetite! I even had sorbetes before heading to the churros place.)

Anyway, we all compromised and just ordered Classic Churros (PHP110, medium 6 pcs | PHP195, large 12 pcs | PHP275 Xlarge 18 pcs) and Xuxos or stuffed churros—Nutella, Strawberry and Peanut Butter (PHP120 each). We also got a large Hot Chocolate Dip (PHP100).

 

The Classic Churros with Hot Chocolate Dip were served on a paper cone and you may eat it while walking or stick the cone on the table (the tables have holes for the pointy part of the cone) and eat it while people watching.