First Sip: Cocoa Boulevard

With Mother Nature in its moodiest state, I prefer to stay in and enjoy watching the rain as I sip a hot cup of coffee or chocolate. And speaking of chocolate, I discovered a new alternative to my instant mix. 

Hello, Cocoa Boulevard.

I got a random message from Cocoa Boulevard a few months back asking if I would be interested to try its hot chocolate stirrers. Intrigued by the concept, I quickly said yes. I was then asked to wait for a few weeks as they make their hot chocolate stirrers from scratch. 

First Bite: Made Nice Supper Club

I have been an active looloo user for over a year now and it never seems to get old. I just love the looloo community and I truly enjoy listening to each and everyone’s food and adventure stories. Coming from different walks of life, each member are like spices and herbs that make the community a lot more interesting. And what’s a fun community without regular meet ups, or in our case, eat ups? Our resident PRO, J, arranged a looloo holiday dinner open to all active reviewers and it sure was a festive one! Our venue? The new restaurant across Your Local called Made Nice Supper Club.

Hello, Made Nice Supper Club!

It could be challenging to spot this place if you have no clue where it is along the foodie Esteban street. It is across Your Local and beside a bridal store. With its minimalist MN signage, you have to remember those two landmarks to avoid missing it, as some of us did. 

Promo Alert: Churros All You Can at Boqueria

I love churros. I remember that it is one of my must have dishes whenever I visit Dulcinea. The rich chocolate and the crunchy churros are just perfect as an afternoon snack (or dessert). I even went gaga when they had a kiosk at the ground floor of SM Megamall where they focused on eclairs, cream puffs and churros. However, Boqueria, a new player in the market, captured the churros loving crowd with its decadent hot chocolate and churros and now, they are offering something foodies would absolutely love...

Unlimited churros? Why not?

 Yes, you read it right! Boqueria is offering CHURROS ALL YOU CAN!

But of course, there's a catch. It is only available from Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.. So if you work near SM Megamall and you have a flexible lunch break, then lucky you! Promo runs until September 15, 2014. So schedule it now!

I do hope that they consider having this as a weekend promo. (And an option to have plain churros. Sugar coated churros dipped in their rich chocolate is just too much for me.)

Boqueria is located at 3rd Floor, SM Megamall Fashion Hall, Mandaluyong City.

A Bald Man’s Chocolates

I was pretty excited to pay Max Brenner Chocolate Bar a visit as I was informed that their chocolates are amazing. Plus, I love to be surrounded by bald men serving chocolates. (Hmm… that sounded so weird.)

Still full from one heavy lunch from Max’s neighbor Simply Thai, we walked for a bit around Greenbelt. After 5 to 10 minutes, we went back to the corner of the bald men.

Bald guy spotted!

We checked the menu and noticed that the place serves savory dishes as well. The meals were quite pricey (though I should have expected that since we were at Greenbelt 5). But I was not after sandwiches, meat, rice, or whatnot… I wanted to try their Chocolate Fondue (PHP528). It comes with two types of chocolates (choices are milk, dark, and white) and seasoned fruits, marshmallows, lady fingers, and fudge brownies.

Yahoo! Chocolate Fondue! Chocolate Fondue! Chocolate Fondueeeee!

I was very excited to try the dark chocolate as I LOVE DARK CHOCOLATE. (I was quite apathetic towards milk chocolate; and, just like some of my friends, I also believe that white chocolate is not real chocolate.)

It was quite thick, rich, and velvety… but mostly thick. It was chocolate ooh-la-la~

As for the milk chocolate dip, it was a bit too watery. It seemed more like a chocolate drink than a dip for me. It did not have the rich taste of the dark chocolate. Nonetheless, I think kids would like this one better for its milder and milkier taste.

The plate of fruits, brownies, marshmallows and lady fingers was too small for the price. Well there were a few slices of kiwi, bananas, and apples but it would have been nice if they also added some strawberries. Or is it because it is not in season? But it is never in season here, right? Rather, it is always in season in Baguio (the place with year round strawberry harvest), right? The brownies though were really good. It was moist, soft, and rich in chocolate. It didn’t have to be dipped in chocolate for more for it would seem like a sin already.

As for the interior, it is so cute! After 30 minutes of waiting for the customers to leave, we finally had the place to ourselves. In short, we had a mini photo shoot with everything cute inside the place. There’s the wall, the chocolate machine, the cartoon poster of a girl with her tongue out (it's on the photo with the bald guy) and more of the wall.

 

I’m not really sure if it’s worth it to go to Max Brenner but I definitely enjoyed dining there. It was like I was in a playground.

Just a little trivia before I end:

Did you know that Max Brenner was named after the founders Max Fichtman and Oded Brenner? I’m not sure though if both are bald. But there’s one thing I know… there was only one server in the restaurant that was bald. What happened?

Max Brenner is located at Ground Floor of Greenbelt 5, Makati City.